


Children Of Iron

by Boopoopeedoo



Series: After The Endgame [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Wanda Maximoff, Cute Kids, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fix-It of Sorts, Iron Dad, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Vision (Marvel), Spider-Man: Far From Home (Movie), Spider-Man: Far From Home (Movie) Spoilers, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Tony Feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2020-09-19 02:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 21,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20323687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boopoopeedoo/pseuds/Boopoopeedoo
Summary: Vision found it easy to bond with Morgan Stark, keeping a promise to Tony that he would care for her. His 'brothers', Peter and Harley, may prove more difficult.When Peter runs into trouble on a school trip to Europe, Vision gets the chance to protect and maybe bond with his 'little brother'- With a bit of help from Wanda, of course. Sequel to 'Memories'.





	1. Brothers

For Vision, the idea of having siblings, of having a real family at all, was relatively new. Wanda had revived him, and the next thing he knew, little Morgan Stark was climbing into his lap and declaring him her big brother. Vision hadn't minded much. Morgan Stark was easy to love.

He found he quite liked having a little sister. It was easy, most of the time. All Morgan really needed was for him to play with her, read her bedtime stories. Sometimes help her make breakfast for Pepper, or fetch juice pops from the freezer.

The only teensy weensy little problem that had come about was a more recent one, and had only become a problem once he and Wanda had revived their sex life. They absolutely, one hundred percent needed to remember to lock their Bedroom door if they were going to.. do things, because Morgan had not quite mastered the art of knocking before she entered a room.

She had never caught them actually in the act, thank heavens, but one morning, a few weeks after Vision had proposed..  
\--

"Vision, Wanda, can we..

Morgan was greeted with a panicked yelp and a couple scrambling to cover themselves with their blankets. She had seen just enough to realise that a certain Scarlet Witch was missing something.

"Good Morning, Morgan" Vision managed a smile. "What can we do for you?"

"What happened to Wanda's clothes?" Morgan asked innocently.

"Uh.. Well.." Vision stammered.

"Was it the monster who stole your pants?" asked Morgan.

"Actually" despite her embarrassment with the situation, Wanda couldn't help peeking out from under the blankets to cheekily smirk, "I think it might have been that monster's fiance'.."

Vision's cheeks suddenly turned a deeper shade of red, but smiled, still feeling a thrill when used that word. Thankfully Morgan, innocent as she was, had accepted the explanation.

"Okay.. Can we make waffles?"

"Only if it's okay with your Mother" Vision replied.

"It is" Morgan nodded.

"Then of course we can, sora mai mica" Wanda smiled at the little girl. "Just let us find some other clothes, and we'll be with you in a moment."  
\--

Occasional embarrassing incidents aside, having a sister was one of the joys of Vision's renewed life. He knew what to do to look after Morgan. He knew how to make her happy.

However, according to the letters left behind for Vision by Tony Stark before his heroic death, Vision also had two surrogate brothers- Peter Parker and Harley Keener. And he had to look after them too, because Tony's letter had asked him to, and Vision had promised himself that he would.

The only problem with this? Vision had never had brothers before, especially not teenage brothers. He had met Peter on only a few brief occasions, and had only known Harley when he was Jarvis, which given how much more highly evolved he was as Vision, was almost like saying her had never met him at all.

Vision didn't know how to talk to teenagers, let alone look after them. He doubted that Bedtime stories and juice pops would cut it.

Lucky for Vision, then, he had a beautiful new fiance' who might be able to offer him some advice on the matter.  
\--

"Wanda" Vision sat beside her on the couch in the Lake House, "I was wondering if I could ask your advice about something."

"Of course" Wanda set aside the bridal magazine she had been flicking through, shifting to immediately curl into Vision's side, her head resting on his shoulder, as he instinctively wrapped an arm around her in return. "You can ask me about anything, Vizh, you know that.

"I know.." He kissed the top of her head. "So.. What do I.. how do I talk to a brother?"

"I see. You are worried about Peter and Harley still.."

"I am.. I promised myself that I would look after them, for Tony. But I have no idea how to do that. You know what it is like to have a brother, so I hoped that maybe you could help me.

"I will try" Wanda chuckled softly, "But you have a rather different situation than mine. Pietro and I came into the world together and barely spent a moment apart until he died. You are starting from scratch."

"I know" Vision sighed.

"I think you need to start by trying to build a relationship with them as people first, rather than brothers" Wanda suggested. "Actually being a brother.. You can't force that sort of bond. But if it is meant to, if it feels right, it will come in time, just like it did for you and Morgan.. Or us, living here."

The thought of Morgan made Vision smile. His bond with her had come so naturally.. like it was meant to be, because it was. Just like him and Wanda finding their unexpected home with Pepper and Morgan in the Lake house.

"You are right.. I can't force it" Vision nodded. "But I need to try something. Pepper has Peter's number. Perhaps I will give him a call later, maybe ask if I can buy him lunch one day.."

"That might have to wait a few weeks, Vizh.. Happy mentioned Peter was leaving on a School Trip to Europe this weekend."

"Oh.."

"Don't worry, we'll catch him when he gets back. You can try Harley, but I think he lives out of state.. we'll probably have to go to him."

"I suppose it's worth a go" Vision shrugged, feeling a lot more positive about his situation after speaking with Wanda. "Did you see anything you liked in the Bridal magazine?"

"Maybe" Wanda's eyes lit up, a happy little giggle escaping her. "I'm definitely getting a few ideas.."

"That's good" Vision smiled, pleased to see her happy, pulling her closer. Experience had taught him not to waste a moment with his precious Wanda. His brothers could wait a little longer.


	2. The Sandy-Haired Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda and Vision pay a visit to Harley Keener.

With Peter away on his trip, Vision set his hopes on possibly making a connection with Harley Keener. Tony had kept most of Harley's contact details, and after discussing things with Wanda, Vision decided to reach out via a Facebook message, in case Harley was one of those people who very reasonably chose not to answer phone calls from numbers he did not know.

Neither Vision nor Wanda had Facebook, or any Social Media for that matter, so Pepper let them send their message through her page. Harley had sent Pepper a message asking if it was alright for him to attend Tony's funeral.

"He seems like a sweet kid" she told them. "Maybe a little on the sensitive side. Try not to overwhelm him?"

Vision had been sitting in front of a laptop for a long time, the messenger window open, but empty. For a while, Wanda had left him to it thinking that maybe this was one of those things that she should let her beloved try to do for himself. However, when the 'staring at the empty messenger window' situation was about to enter it's second hour, she decided that simply waiting for this to occur was no longer a valid course of action. While Vision should probably still write the message himself, maybe he could use a little push.

"You alright there, Vizh?" Wanda asked as she walked over to him, resting her hands on the back of his chair and pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"I just.. I'm not sure how to word this" Vision sighed, but couldn't help smiling slightly at her small gesture of affection. "Nothing I think of seems quite right. 'Hello, I'm your synthezoid big brother!'.. How would any variation of that not overwhelm him?!"

"Technically Vizh, you are the little brother" Wanda chuckled, and Vision frowned a little. "It's true.. As for your problem, maybe leave out the brother part entirely. It's like I said, you can't force that bond."

"I know.. but.."

"Nici un 'dar. Hmm.. how about we take a bit of the pressure off you. Write the message like it's from both of us. I saw him at the funeral, and I was just checking in to see how he's coping.." This was at least partly true. Wanda had seen Harley at Tony's funeral, on account of he had been standing right behind her, and she had meant to ask after the sandy-haired boy, until she had been distracted by Morgan Stark's request that Wanda fix her brother.

"That could work.." Vision mused, beginning to type.

"Of course. I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think it could work. If he needs to talk, we can catch up over Lunch.. We'll come to him, and we'll pick him up, so he doesn't have to worry about anything.. except maybe picking a place to eat."

Vision finished writing the message, took a breath, and sent it.

"Now what?"

"Now, lubirea mea, we wait.."

Just a few minutes after Vision had sent the message, three little dots appeared beneath it. Vision jumped.

"Wanda, I think he's writing back!"

"Of course he is" Wanda smirked, rather proud of herself. What teenage boy wouldn't get a little excited receiving a message from the Scarlet Witch?  
\--

To Vision's delight, Harley agreed to their offer of lunch, and in fact, he would be free the following afternoon. So, after double-checking Harley's address,

Wanda and Vision made the decision to fly themselves part of the way, then rented a car for the rest of the trip. They pulled up outside the boy's house around noon.

They got out of the car, and Vision knocked on the door, rather nervous.

"Relax, Vizh" Wanda squeezed her fiance's hand. "Everything's going to be fine."

"I hope so.."

Looking after Morgan, looking after these two boys, was the one important job that Tony had left him with. He couldn't let him down. Just as Vision was going to knock again, they heard a voice from inside.

"That'll be for me, Mom. I'll be back later!" Soon, a very excited Harley Keener bounced through the door. "Wow, it really is you! For a while I wondered if someone was trying to prank me.. You're Vision! Tony told me all about you!"

"He did?" Vision's eyes widened.

"Yeah, he did! You used to be JARVIS, right? That's cool! You're cool.. and so are you!" Harley turned to Wanda. "You're the Scarlet Witch. Everyone says you almost defeated Thanos by yourself!"

"That's true" said Wanda rather proudly.

"Wow.. So, there's this awesome Diner not too far away.."  
\--

So, the awesome Diner it was. The place was friendly, but not too crowded. A small TV hung on the wall behind the booth in which Wanda, Vision, and Harley currently sat, the station usually set to 24 hour news when there were no big sporting events on.

"Tony set me up with this really great Lab in my garage" Harley explained, munching on a burger. "And he sent a bit of money every month, as supposed wages for my working in the 'youth research division'."

"That was good of him" Wanda commented.

"It was" added Vision, listening intently to Harley's every word.

"Yeah. Took some pressure off my Mom. Mrs. Potts still pays me, she seems nice. And Tony sent me new bits and pieces for the lab every few months. At first I mostly used it to make High-Tech potato guns.. Stupid kid's stuff. Now I try making things that are actually useful. If you like, I can show you what I'm working on when you drop me home" Harley sounded hopeful, but nervous. "If you're too busy though, I understand."

"Of course not" said Wanda quickly.

"We would love to see what you are working on" Vision grinned. Everything was going so well.

Harley's eyes lit up, then a moment later, his jaw dropped, eyes drawn to the television behind them. Vision and Wanda both turned to see what he was looking at it.

A large creature that looked as if it was made of water was rampaging through strangely familiar streets.

"That's in Venice.." said Wanda, eyes wide. "We've been there.."

Vision suddenly felt quite ill. Happy Hogan had showed him the itinerary for Midtown High's trip.

"Peter's in Venice.."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> Nici un 'dar: No buts
> 
> lubirea mea: my love


	3. The Nano-Legion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley desperately tries to convince Vision and Wanda to allow him to accompany them to Venice.

Vision and Wanda watched, quite horrified, as the scene unfolded on the television. They, and all the surviving Avengers, had hoped that, maybe, peace would reign for at least a little longer after Thanos's defeat.. But peace on Earth never really lasted very long, did it?

They were distracted from their horror when a man in unusual armour and a very strange helmet, flying on what looked like some sort of green cloud, attacked the monster onscreen. 

"Is that a new Avenger?" Harley asked. "Do you know him?"

"No" Wanda replied, shaking her head. By now, a few other customers were gathering around the television.

"Huh.." Harley pointed. "That other guy in the background with the weird mask moves kind of like Spider-Man.."

"Oh dear.." Vision turned to Harley, genuinely very sorry to have to let him down, especially when they had been getting along so well, but it couldn't be helped. Peter was in trouble. "Harley, I really am sorry, but seeing your Lab might have to wait until another time after all. This situation.." He gestured to the television, "Requires our attention."

"We can drop you back home, but then we'll have to go.. We will be back though, promisiune." Wanda was already heading for the door, experiencing flashbacks of a battered boy on the battlefield, telling him not to worry..

"We will" Vision nodded, following her. "We promise."

"Hey, wait!" Harley called, hurrying outside after them. "You mentioned a Peter. That's Peter Parker, right?"

"Yes" said Vision, "And he could be in quite a bit of trouble, so.."

He was cut off as Harley grabbed his arm, whispering.

"I know he's Spider-Man.."

"What?" Vision froze. Peter's identity was not supposed to be common knowledge.

"I mean.. I kinda guessed" Harley shrugged sheepishly. "Tony wanted me to meet him. In his last message, he said he might have a new 'Internship' position, he wanted to talk to me about it if I was ready, and thought I should meet the other intern, Peter. I put two and two together when I saw Iron Man and Spider-Man on the news.. But then the blip happened, so we never got to talk about the internship.. I did meet Peter at the funeral though.."

"Oh.. I'm sorry.."

"Take me with you."

"What?" Vision frowned again.

"To Venice" Harley repeated. "Take me with you."

"Harley, Dulce inima, I don't think that's such a good idea.." Wanda sighed.

"But I can help!" Harley argued. "I've built stuff that could be useful.. Let me show you. It won't take long, then you can decide whether to take me or not."

Wanda and Vision shared a look, then sighed.

"Alright.." Vision nodded. "You can show us."  
\--

The trio drove back to Harley's house, and he excitedly led Vision and Wanda into his garage. Wanda audibly gasped. It looked very much like the Shed Wanda had found Vision in before she'd revived him.. The shed that, quite obviously, was really Tony's workshop.

Vision looked around, rather impressed. various projects, some finished, others in progress, were scattered about the space. An arsenal of 'Potato Guns', Mk II through IX. Something that might possibly have been a hover-board, a pair of high-tech boots with an unclear purpose. What may or may not have been plans for what looked like Harley's very own 'Iron Man' suit.. These seemed a little battered, folded multiple times and dog-eared in the corners, and Vision swore that he could see notes on them in Tony's handwriting- Some time later, Harley would tell Vision that for a while, they had gone 'old-school' with the plans, mailing them back and forth.

None of that, however, was what Harley wanted to show them right now. No, what Wanda and Vision saw clutched in the excited boy's hands was a nanite container. And when he activated it, the nanites swarmed out to form..

"Tiny Starks.." Wanda gasped.

Indeed, Wanda was almost right. What Harley Keener had done with the nanites was program them to form a large army of what appeared to be tiny Iron Man suits.

"Oh.." Vision gasped himself. "That is.."

"I call them the Nano-Legion" Harley grinned proudly. "Like Tony's Iron Legion, get it? They can stay small for recon type stuff, but if you need their help in combat.." He pulled out a remote and pressed a few buttons, and a few of the tiny droids swarmed together to form into a larger one.

"That is definitely impressive.." Vision admitted.

"They can also work as recording devices. And I can control them remotely, so I wouldn't need to be close to any danger..And I already have a passport.."

The boy had clearly thought this through. Still, Vision hesitated.

"Harley.."

"Come on, please?" Harley begged. "You know the Nano-Legion will be useful. I wasn't ready to help with the big stuff before, but now I am. I'm ready. Please, let me help."

Vision looked to Wanda for advice. Wanda simply shrugged. His brother. His decision.

Vision thought quite hard about this. On the one hand, Tony had asked him to look after Harley, and taking him overseas into unknown danger seemed very irresponsible. On the other hand, it could be a good bonding experience. Besides, this kind of work was kind of the Family Business, and Tony had clearly been grooming Harley for a place in it.

"Alright.." Vision finally relented. "Go tell your Mother you've been chosen for the new Stark Industries Internship.. It begins with a retreat in Europe."

"Yes!" Harley punched the air, rushing off to tell his Mother the news. "Thanks, Vision.. And you, Miss Wanda!"

Wanda chuckled. Vision turned to her, sighing.

"Did I make a good decision here, or a very stupid one?"

"Well, I admit it may not be the most, uh, responsible course of action" Wanda shrugged. "But that Nano-Legion of his could come in handy, and like Harley said, he can control them from a distance, so it's not like we're taking him into the heart of the danger. We can protect him."

"Are you sure?" Vision was still concerned.

"Look at it this way" Wanda let her arms curl around her fiance's waist, leaning up to kiss him, "It is definitely no worse than Tony taking Peter to Space."  
\--

They let Harley pack, and then made a quick trip home to pack a few things for themselves, and tell Pepper and Morgan where they were going, and that they weren't quite sure when they would be back.

Pepper understood, but Morgan was worried. Her Daddy had left very much like this, and he had never come home again. She hugged both Vision and Wanda very tight.

"You're gonna come home, aren't you?"

"Of course we are" Vision hugged her back.

"You promise?" Morgan looked at them with wide eyes.

"We promise" Wanda nodded. "We'll even bring you back a present.

"Okay" Morgan hugged them both again. She caught sight of Harley, waiting rather awkwardly by the car, and waved shyly at him.

Harley waved back, drawing a small smile from Morgan. The little girl's smile warmed his heart, and Harley found himself very glad that Vision was allowing him to accompany he and Wanda on this trip. Somehow, it felt like he was ending up right where he needed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> Promisiune: Promise.
> 
> Dulce Inima: sweet heart.


	4. Brotherly Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda, Vision, and Harley embark upon a memorable plane trip to Venice.

Before too long, Vision, Wanda, and Harley were loading themselves and their belongings onto the Stark Industries private jet, inside which Happy Hogan was waiting to fly them to Venice.

"Thank you for getting here at such short notice, Happy" said Vision, shaking Happy's hand as he boarded.

"Not a problem" Happy replied, returning the handshake. "Really, it's actually pretty nice to be 'on call' again for something other than getting Morgan cheeseburgers. I mean, I love that little girl to the ends of the Earth, but.."

"I understand" Vision chuckled.

"I guess you do, living with her and all.. Point is, I'm happy to help. We've all got a soft spot for the Parker kid.." Happy paused, looking over Vision's shoulder to see Harley hauling his luggage aboard, including a high-end laptop purchased with one of his Stark Industries paychecks, and the case housing the Nano-Legion. "Uh, do we know that kid?"

"Hi, I'm Harley, Harley Keener. We might have met at the funeral?" Harley looked around the Jet, wide-eyed. "Oh, this is so cool.."

"Maybe don't touch anything yet, Harley"Wanda gently instructed as she boarded just after him. "I'm not quite sure how everything works in here."

"Got it" Harley nodded, still gazing around in awe at the extra tech aboard the jet. "Wow.."

Happy shot Vision a questioning look.

"Uh.. Harley is an old friend of Tony's" Vision explained with a smile. "He's quite clever."

Happy shook his head.. Where the hell had Tony found all these super-kids? Then simply shrugged.

"Well, welcome aboard kid.." Happy set off towards the cockpit. "Now everyone sit down and seat belts on, we're taking off in five minutes.  
\--

So, they all took their seats. Though the whole jet was free, they sat together, Vision in the middle, with Wanda and Harley on either side.

It was going to be a long flight, so Vision had cracked open a new novel, while Wanda had begun shifting through a large stack of Wedding magazines.

Harley planned to spend the flight doing some last minute fine tuning on the Nano-Legion, and maybe watch some Netflix on his laptop. In the interest of trying to be polite, he waited nearly twenty minutes after Happy turned off the 'Seat belts on' signal before he cast his eyes towards the jet's snack bar. The boy's stomach rumbled.

"Vision, is it okay if I grab some snacks?"

"Of course, help yourself" Vision nodded, looking up from his book. "It won't be missed, the jet isn't used quite so much anymore."

"Awesome!" Harley jumped up, heading over.

"But don't touch the alcohol" Wanda warned. Now that they had agreed to bring Harley along on this little adventure, she felt a special duty of care towards the boy.

"Oh, yes" Vision quickly agreed, trying to be a responsible brother. "Definitely no alcohol."

"Of course not" Harley chuckled as he raided the cupboards. "We're on a mission, right? I have to keep a clear head. Besides, I'm not that into that stuff anyway.. Do you guys want anything?"

"I don't eat" Vision reminded him, and though he had only known him a short time, felt himself feeling proud of Harley's responsible decision. "Wanda might like something though.."

"No problem" Harley pulled out a few packets of chips, some snack cakes, and a couple of bags of gummy worms. "I'll grab extra, we can share.."  
\--

The flight went on. Harley made a few adjustments to the Nano-Legion droids, while Vision looked on with interest, occasionally asking questions which Harley happily answered. Wanda, flicking through her magazines, glanced at the pair with a smile, pleased to see them bonding.

Eventually, Harley fell asleep, his head dropping to rest on Vision's shoulder. Vision looked at him, slightly surprised.

"It seems as if your frate mai mic is getting quite comfortable with you" Wanda grinned.

"It seems he is.." Vision smiled softly. "It is a bit cold in here.. do we have any blankets for him?"

"I will go find one" Wanda stood up. "Don't worry."

More time passed. Shortly after Harley had fallen asleep, Wanda took a short nap herself, against Vision's other shoulder. When she woke, stretching, Vision smiled at her.

"Hello, sleepy" He whispered, since Harley was still sleeping on his other side.

"Mmm.. hello.." she yawned.

"Happy says we will be arriving soon."

"I think I'll go change, then" Wanda stood, stretching a little more. "We don't know how quickly we might have to jump into action."

"Good point, love. You go change, I'll let you know when we have to put our seat belts back on."  
\--

Wanda changed inside the Jet's impressive bathroom facilities. When she was done, she stood in front of the mirror, feeling a little nervous. She had not worn her full 'Scarlet Witch' uniform since the Avengers' final confrontation with Thanos, and in fact, had been avoiding it, leaving it buried deep in the back of the large wardrobe she and Vision shared at the lake house. But Peter Parker needed help, and she could not leave her Husband-to-be's little brother in danger.

The Scarlet Witch would fly again.

Taking a breath, Wanda tightened her boot laces, adjusted her corset, and headed back into the main cabin.

"How do I look, Vizh?" She did a little spin for him. "Ready to fight monsters?"

"Most definitely" Vision grinned, eyes sparkling. "I almost forgot how good you look in that.."

At that moment, Harley began to wake. His eyes soon settled on Wanda, and his mouth opened, speaking before his sleep-addled brain had a chance to actually think and stop him.

"Whoa.. You are seriously hot.."

"Yes, she.." Excuse me!" Vision spluttered. "That is my fiance you are talking to!"

"Sorry" Harley had regretted his sleepy slip of the tongue as soon as he had said it, his cheeks blushing bright red. "But, uh.. It's kind of a good thing to hear, isn't it?"

"What?" Vision frowned.

"I'm saying.. Wanda's gorgeous, dude. and you're lucky."

Wanda's cheeks had turned a faint shade of pink, but she managed a small smile.

"Thank you, Harley. That is quite flattering..Vision and I are both lucky."

Harley's cheeks burned even redder at Wanda's words, and Vision chuckled, relaxing.

"Yes.. we are both lucky.. Lucky to have each other, and lucky to have you here with us, Harley."

"You.. you think so?" Harley smiled.

"I know so" Vision grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> frate mai mic: little brother


	5. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda, Vision, and Harley try to track down Peter in Venice.

A short while later, Happy dropped off Wanda, Vision, and Harley over Venice. Literally, over Venice. Not knowing the exact details of what had transpired so far, Vision had decided it was best to avoid drawing too much attention to themselves, therfore they had opted against actually landing the plane. Instead, hey were going to fly down.. A little risky since one member of the trio could not actually fly, but it they could work something out.

"I can hang on to Wanda" Harley suggested, a little too hopefully, as they were preparing to disembark.

"No, I think it will be better if you were to hang on to me" Vision countered. "I am more suited to flying with the extra weight."

"Oh, right.. Good point" Harley giggled nervously.

"Alternatively, Harley does not have to hang on to either one of us" Wanda waved a hand, a rather cheeky grin on her face, and Harley began to float, surrounded by very familiar scarlet energy.

"Whoa!" Harley yelped, tightening his grip on the case housing the Nano-Legion. "I.. whoa!"

"Shall we go now, boys?" Wanda smirked.

Both Vision and Harley nodded dumbly, Vision gathering the rest of their things.  
\--

Thankfully, it was rather dark, masking the arrival of the two newly-engaged Avengers and their new 'Intern'. Vision took a moment to survey the beautiful old city from above. There were a few pieces of scattered debris from the earlier attack, but for the most part, the damage seemed relatively minor.

Wanda landed first, behind an old building, bringing Harley down gently beside her.

"That was awesome!" Harley grinned. "Just like flying for real. Can we do that again?"

"Maybe" Wanda chuckled, looking around, and smiling at Vision when he came down on her other side. "I forgot how beautiful Venice is.. do you remember last time we were here, Vizh?"

"I do" Vision smiled, shifting into his human disguise. "We went on a Gondola ride.."

"And you took me out for a very nice dinner.." Wanda linked her fingers with his.

"Mmhm. And on the day we were supposed to leave I missed my flight because we were.."

"Vizh!" Wanda yelped, clapping a hand over his mouth. "That is not a company-appropriate story.."

Vision blushed, suddenly remembering Harley, standing awkwardly beside them.

"Sorry, Harley.."

"I hear way worse stuff at School" Harley shrugged. "So, what do we do now that we're here?"

"First things first" said Wanda, "I think we need to find Peter."

"Agreed" Vision nodded. "Happy said May got a text from Peter mentioning that they were going to switch Hotels, but I'm not sure which one he was switching too.."

"No problem, I think I can help.." Harley knelt, opening his case and pulling out a small controller. He pressed a few buttons, and a single Nano-Iron Man droid formed from the nanites. "We need to track down Spider-Man."

The droid seemed to salute Harley, then it's eyes glowed, initiating a scan of the area. It emitted a small beeping noise when the scan was complete, and spoke in a robotic voice.

"Spider-Man located."

The droid hovered upward, awaiting further instructions.

"It's got something" Harley grinned.

"Sclipitor" Wanda smiled, gently ruffling the boy's hair. "Lead the way, Harley."

"Yes, Ma'm!" Harley stood, speaking to the droid. "Lead us to Spider-Man.. but do it in stealth mode, we don't want too many people seeing you.."

The droid saluted again, then took off, Harley hurrying along its wake, with Wanda and Vision following along behind him.

"I'm not sure you should be encouraging him quite so much.." Vision frowned, speaking quietly enough that Harley wouldn't hear him, clutching Wanda's hand a bit tighter.

"What do you mean?" Wanda's brow crinkled in confusion.

"Well, Harley clearly has a little crush.." Vision looked around awkwardly. The streets of Venice were largely empty, most people choosing to huddle indoors with their loved ones after the earlier monster attack.

"I've noticed. It's actually a little flattering, but completely harmless.. Wait" Wanda paused, a smirk spreading over her face. "Vizh, are you jealous?"

"No.. of course not.."

"You are!" Wanda almost burst out laughing.

Harley, some ways ahead now, paid little attention to them, completely focused on the task at hand.

"I know it's stupid.." Vision blushed. "I suppose I am just not used to sharing your attention.."

"Vision.." Wanda shook her head, reaching up to stroke his cheek, and smiling when he leaned into her touch. "Harley is a baiat dulce, and I am enjoying getting to know him, because he is your brother, and it is important to you that all the members of this family you are building get along.."

"It is" Vision nodded.

"It is important to me too" Wanda continued, "Because I love you. More than I thought I could ever love anyone. You are the man I am marrying, the one I am promising forever to someday soon. I love you, Vision. Just you. Nobody else. Okay?"

"Okay" A wonderfully bright smile spread over his face. "I love you too. So much."

"I know.." Wanda smiled, pulling him down for a quick kiss. "Now, let's go find your other little brother.. And try not to have a crisis if this one develops a crush on your wife to be."

"That is quite unlikely" Vision chuckled, relaxing now. "From what happy tells me, Peter is rather hung up on a girl called MJ.."  
\--

They followed the nano-droid for a while longer, until Harley frantically gestured to them.

"I think I see something!"

Wanda and Vision hurried to where Harley was waiting near the docks, the nano-droid hovering at his side. All three of them crouched behind an out-of service Gondola. Harley looked out to the water, Wanda and Vision following his gaze.

They could see a motorboat, with two passengers aboard. One was Peter Parker, fully suited up apart from his mask.

The other was Nick Fury.


	6. Wild Card

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda and Vision are not sure what kind of reception to expect from Nick Fury

"Should we borrow a boat to follow them?" Harley whispered, returning the Iron Legion droid to it's case.

"No.. they'll spot us too easily that way" said Vision.

"Right" Wanda agreed. "We'll follow from the sky."

"Does it really matter if they spot us?" Harley questioned. "I mean.. Nick Fury's like top of the pile when it comes to the good guys."

Wanda and Vision shared an uncertain look. While what Harley said was true, that Fury was basically everybody's boss since he had created the Avengers.. For various complicated reasons, neither Vision nor Wanda had ever met him. At least not properly. Vision had a vague recollection of being introduced to him in the post-Sokovia chaos. Wanda may have too, although she was too grief-stricken over Pietro to remember much else from that time.

They both knew that you didn't usually get to meet Nick Fury unless he wanted you to meet him, especially after his faked death, and they weren't entirely sure how he would react to their showing up unexpectedly in the middle of one of his operations.

"I still think it best that we fly for now.." Vision finally replied, and Wanda nodded in agreement.

"You're the boss" Harley shrugged.  
\--

So, they hovered what they thought was a safe distance from the boat as they followed, with Vision holding onto Wanda and Harley, phasing them all to limit their chances of being seen. They watched as Fury handed Peter a gift from Tony.

"Do you think Tony left anything for me?" Harley whispered hopefully.

"I'm not sure.. Probably" Vision replied. "We're still finding things he had tucked away.."

"Like this.." Wanda replied quietly, smiling as she wiggled her ring finger.

Vision smiled back at her.

They continued to follow the boat until it reached the mouth of a tunnel. Then, Nick Fury turned, looking straight up at them, aimed a rifle, and fired. Peter, at the realization they were being followed, but not knowing by who, hurriedly pulled on his mask in the brief chaos that followed.

"Ah!"Harley yelped, almost dropping the Iron Legion case.

Though the shot would have passed harmlessly through them in their phased state, Vision twisted in the air to dodge it. Wanda raised a hand to halt the bullet, quickly realizing that it was not a bullet at all.

"Vizh, it's just a tranquilizer.."

"You're damn lucky it's just a tranquilizer!" Fury yelled up to them. "Let this be a lesson, no-one follows Nicholas J. Fury without him knowing about it! Now all of you idiots get in the damn boat before you set off the rest of our security."

Wanda and Vision shared a slightly sheepish look, then headed down to land in the boat. Harley, now clinging to Vision's back like a monkey, quickly got down, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. This was not how he'd wanted to meet more of his heroes.

"Well.. Hello" Vision managed a smile.

"Uh.. Hi, Vision.." Even beneath his mask, Peter's confusion was clear.

"I suppose we have some explaining to do.." Wanda chuckled nervously.

"You bet you do, Maximoff.." Fury's eye flickered to Harley. "Who's the kid?"

"Oh, I'm Harley, Harley Keener.." Harley thrust out a hand, which Peter took. "I'm, uh.. the new Stark Industries intern.."

"New Intern?" The eyes of the Spider-Man mask narrowed.

Vision grew nervous as he watched them, detecting a hint of jealousy in Peter's voice.

"Yeah" Harley continued excitedly, oblivious to the slight change in the other boy's demeanor. "Tony talked with me about it before the blip. Never got a chance to follow through, but now Vision's hired me.. It's nice to meet you, Spider-Man, I'm a really big fan.."

"Nice to meet you too, I guess.."

"Stark and kids.." Fury shook his head as he started up the boat once more, "Who would have thought?"

"Harley has a lot of very useful tiny robots" said Vision.

"...Good to know."  
\--

"You really thought I wouldn't notice you?" Fury continued to scold Wanda and Vision as the boat moved down the tunnel. "I've been keeping my eye on you for a while, Maximoff, and Vision, well.. Let's just say that I keep better tabs on Stark's super-bots than he ever did..Congrats on the engagement, by the way.."

"Thank you, Sir" Vision blushed. "We really are sorry for any trouble we might have caused."

"We just saw the news, and we were concerned about.." Wanda began.

"Your concern is noted, and appreciated" Fury cut her off. "But next time, let someone know so we can claim your little mission as legit, okay? None of the remaining Avengers can go running around half-cocked, a repeat of the Sokovia Accords is the last thing we need right now.."

Wanda's cheeks reddened at the mention of the accords, but Vision nodded.

"Understood, sir.."

"Good.." As Fury stopped the boat, and everyone piled out for it to head for what they assumed was a temporary Mission Control Center, he turned his attention back to Peter. "You can lose the mask, everyone here's seen you without it.."

"He hasn't.." Peter pointed to Harley.

"Yeah, but I know you're Peter Parker though" Harley shrugged.

Peter removed his mask, looking a little annoyed.

Vision grew nervous.. his brotherly bonding expedition seemed to have taken an awkward turn.

"That's better.." Fury continued. "You don't need to be feigning anonymity and breathing through spandex for no good reason.."  
\--

As they headed into the control center, they were introduced to a rather imposing agent named Dimitri whom didn't react when Harley smiled at him.

Maria Hill, whose gaze Wanda avoided.. She had at one time, spoken as a joke, heard Hill's abridged assessment of her and her twin (He's fast. She's weird.), and the words had upset her more than she wanted to admit.

And finally, the armored 'hero' from the news who had sparked Vision and Wanda's whole trip.

".. This is Mr. Beck..

"You're the guy from the news!" Harley cried.

"Mysterio.." Peter gasped.

"What?" The man looked confused.

"Oh, it's just what my friends were.." As Peter stumbled his way through an explanation, Beck shook Harley's hand, Vision's, and Wanda's, but then zeroed back in on Peter just a little too fast for Wanda's liking.

"I saw what you did with the tower. We could have used someone like you on my world."

"Your world?" Peter was confused.

"What do you mean 'Your' world?" Wanda frowned.

"Well.."  
\--

Of all the things Vision had expected to uncover when they set out on this trip, the existence of multiple Universes, and a series of attacks on the Earth from Elemental Monsters was not high on the list.

The news that the last and most dangerous of these monsters, the Fire Elemental, was set to attack Prague in two days, and that Fury planned to take Peter along to help defeat it was an extra level of shock. Vision was about to object to his brother's participation, but Peter was providing a rather good argument himself for why he couldn't go to Prague. That Aunt May would be worried, the danger of his classmates discovering his identity..

"...Then the whole world will work out who I am, and then I'm done."

"He's got a point, you know" Harley cut in. "If my Mom knew what this Internship really involved.. well, she'd be pissed, even if she did know about my Iron Legion."

Peter gave Harley a thankful look, but still seemed somewhat unsettled by the other boy's presence.

"Alright" Fury surprisingly replied. "I understand.."

To Peter's great surprise and relief, Fury instructed Dimitri to return Peter to his Hotel. Vision smiled at Wanda, pleased with the new development. It seemed they had succeeded in keeping Peter safe. Wanda smiled back at him, but was slightly distracted. She had been subtly keeping one eye on Beck as everything unfolded. Something about the man just didn't feel right.

After Peter was safely out of earshot, however, everything changed.

"Hill" Fury instructed, "Have Parker's school trip redirected to Prague."

"Yes, Sir" Hill nodded.

"What?" Vision frowned.

"He's an Avenger now. He can't shirk his responsibilities."

"He doesn't" Vision argued. "He does so much for his neighborhood, foiling crimes. This trip is his first break, and he needs it. He's still just a boy."

"Besides, you have Vision and I now" said Wanda.

"And me" Harley cut in.

"Exactly" Wanda continued. "Harley's Iron Legion can fight from a distance. There's no reason for us to put children in danger."

"No offense" Beck interrupted, "I'm sure you guys are great, but we made our plan with Parker in mind.."

"I don't believe anyone asked you, Mr. Beck" Wanda snapped. "And any plan that requires a child to be successful seems like a pretty de pularie plan to me!"

"Peter Parker stopped being a child the second he put on that suit Stark made him" Fury cut in. "He's doing this job whether he likes it or not."

"But.."

"Don't take this the wrong way" Fury turned to Wanda, ignoring her interruption. "I'm glad you and Vision and little Iron Lad are here. We need all the help we can get.. But you're a wild card, Maximoff, Vision's been out of action, and Keener's untested."

"No I'm not!" Harley argued. "My Iron Legion.."

"Quiet, kid.. Parker has real field experience, you don't. Parker has a mostly clean on the field record.." Fury turned back to Wanda. "You definitely don't. I'll be damned if I'm going to leave the fate of the world up to a wild card, a partially broken android and Tony Stark's plan B!"

Wanda's eyes flashed scarlet. She wasn't sure what she felt more, hurt, or angry. She turned and stormed out of the control room. A deflated Harley followed not too far behind her.

Vision felt something flare in his synthetic gut. For the first time since his resurrection, maybe the first time in his whole life, he was angry.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Sir.." He glared at Fury, "I respect you.. but I do not think I like you very much."

With that, he followed his fiance' and his brother back outside.

Watching the scene unfold, Quentin Beck smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> de pularie: shitty


	7. Copi De Fier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their awkward first meeting with Nick Fury, Vision, Wanda, and Harley vow to prove themselves worthy of their new places on his team.

Vision maintained his anger as he marched away, but his expression instantly softened when he found Wanda and Harley at the mouth of the tunnel. Harley looked rather downhearted, and though clearly a little down herself, Wanda laid a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Do you really think I was only Tony's Plan B?" Harley asked her.

Wanda thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"No, I do not think so.."

"Are you sure? I mean, Fury knew him.."

"But Tony knew you" Wanda countered. "I won't pretend I knew him well enough to know exactly what he was thinking, because I didn't, but I do know that he cared about you. I don't believe Tony chose to recruit Peter first because he thought he was better than you. In fact, I don't think it was even really a choice at all. He was just waiting until he knew you were really ready."

"I guess that makes sense" Harley perked up a little. "And you know, I don't think Mr. Fury was right about you, either. You're not a wildcard.. not anymore, anyway. All the bad stuff happened when you were still learning, right? Now, you're pretty awesome."

"Thanks copil" Wanda chuckled, gently ruffling Harley's hair.

For a moment, still watching quietly, Vision found himself thinking that Wanda would be a good Mother.. Then suddenly felt a little sad, as that was something she would probably never have, with him. He shook his head, broken out of his thoughts when Harley continued to speak.

"There's rumors that you took on Thanos one-on-one and almost beat him.. Is that true?"

"Yes" Wanda smirked. Not an attention seeker, she usually chose not to confirm or deny these rumors, but figured it was safe to trust her future Husband's little brother with the truth. "That's true. I probably would have beaten him, if he hadn't ordered missiles to rain down on the battlefield."

"Wow.." Harley fell silent for a moment. "So, what do we do now?"

"I'll tell you exactly what I think we should do" Vision decided to reveal his presence, although the smile Wanda flashed his way told him that she'd known he was there the whole time. "We'll do just what we came here to do in the first place: Help Peter. And in the process, we will show Nick Fury who we are, and what we can do.. Then maybe he will see that 'Plan B' should have been the A-Team all along."

"Yeah!" Harley whooped, extending a fist.

Vision looked confused, until Wanda caught his eye, subtly knocking her own fists together. Vision smiled thankfully at her, then fist-bumped his little brother.

"To the A-Team!" Vision declared.

"The A-Team!" Harley happily declared.

Wanda burst out laughing.

"What?" asked Vision, confused.

"The A-Team is a really cheesy TV show from the 80's" Wanda explained, still laughing.

"Oh.." Harley frowned.

"Might I suggest.." Wanda offered an alternative. "Copi de fier.. Children of Iron.. For Tony."

"Yes" Vision smiled. "That sounds perfect."

So the trio, putting on brave faces and a united front, marched back into the HQ, asking where they could fit into the current plan. Only Wanda noticed the way Beck's face fell slightly when they returned, though he had quickly recovered. Wanda kept her own expression neutral, but inside, the Scarlet Witch was frowning. She decided that she would keep a very close eye on Quentin Beck.  
\--

Vision, Wanda, and Harley remained with Fury and his team as they set off for Prague. Along the way, Fury filled them in on everything they knew about the upcoming attack of the Fire Elemental, the finer points of the plan to defeat it, and how each of them could fit in to said plan. Fury had been quietly impressed with the capabilities of Harley's Iron Legion.

So was Quentin Beck, although his smile seemed just a little too forced for Wanda's liking.

Harley was just happy with the attention.

As they all listened to Fury's revised plan, Vision kept one eye on the equipment monitoring Peter. A female Agent whom Vision hadn't met had just finished taking his measurements for a new suit, one that Fury hoped would remove the potential problem of Spider-Man being recognized. One of Peter's classmates had walked in on him while he was with the Agent, and Peter seemed rather frantic about the situation.

Though Vision did not understand the reason for Peter's panic, he felt an immense amount of pity for the boy. This mission, everything Nick Fury wanted from him.. it felt too big, too much. Tony would never have put him under this amount of pressure.

Though he had never moved into it, Vision remembered Tony designing a room for Peter at the Avengers Headquarters, mostly because the room would have been next door to Vision's. He remembered Tony filling the room with Video Games, new Lego sets, a Homework desk.. Even if Peter was going to be an Avenger, Tony had wanted him to have the space to still be a kid.

Fury was taking that space away from Peter all too fast.. Vision shook his head. The fate of Earth was at stake, again. His concern for Peter's stolen childhood would have to wait until the danger had passed. With Peter now safely back on the bus, opening the gift Tony had left for him, Vision returned his attention to the task at hand.

Noticing that Wanda seemed a little tense, Vision reached to lace his fingers with hers, gently squeezing her hand, and she gave him a small smile in response. They listened to Beck's account of his previous battle against the Fire Elemental, learned that they absolutely must keep it away from metal.. before they were interrupted by the rather concerned voice of Maria Hill.

"Sir, a swarm of Stark drones have just locked on to Peter Parker's school bus.."

"What?" Fury frowned. "Why the Hell would Stark drones attack Parker's bus?"

"Parker may have accidentally deployed them against a fellow student, Sir.." said Hill.

"Damn! How could he be so irresponsible?"

"Because he's a kid, and sometimes kids do stupid things, particularly when there is too much pressure on them.." Wanda pointed out.

"Okay, you made your point Maximoff.." Fury grumbled. "How long before this kid is in real danger?"

"About ten minutes" Hill replied.

"Mr. Beck" said Fury, "Can you.."

For the first time, Beck looked unsettled.

"I really need to save my energy for the Elemental.."

"Wanda and I will handle it" said Vision quickly.

"We will" Wanda agreed.

"Alright" Fury nodded. "Go. But don't you dare get killed. We've already reworked the plan, I don't want to have to do it again."

"I'll send some Iron Legion droids as back-up" said Harley, putting on the headset Maria Hill had just handed to him.

"Good idea.." Vision, remembering the earlier conversation outside the old HQ, fist-bumped Harley once again. "It is lucky we brought you with us."

"Baiat bun" Wanda ruffled Harley's hair again. "You stay here and be Copi de fier Mission Control."

"I will" Harley grinned, nodding.

Wanda and Vision checked the location of Peter's bus, then the incoming drones, before quickly departing to stop them.

"Copi de fier?" Fury was confused. "What the Hell is that?"

Harley just laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> Copil: kid
> 
> Baiat bun: good boy


	8. Attack Of The Drones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda and Vision fend off a drone strike on Peter's bus.

"Those drones were deployed from space, so we have a bit of time, right?" Wanda asked, as she and Vision raced along the travel route of Peter Parker's school bus. A small squad of Iron Legion droids hovered in wait beside them, cloaked from view. Wanda heard Harley laugh through the communicator. "Harley, Draga, that is not helpful."

_"Sorry.."___

"Wanda, this is Tony we're talking about.." Vision frowned. "He came up with the idea to make me in less than a minute. What do you think he managed to accomplish with five years of prep time, and the knowledge he gained from going to space?"

That explanation was all Wanda needed to completely change her assessment of the situation.

"Rahat. We really don't have a lot of time then, do we?"

"Unfortunately, no" Vision sighed.

_"Vision, Maximoff, update" Fury's voice barked through the communicators. "What's going on out there?"___

"Hmm.." Wanda looked down to the road below them. "No sign of the drones yet.. Sir." Despite her disagreements with Fury over the course of this mission, she had decided she would at least try to remain respectful. "But we have eyes on Peter's bus."

After just a few more uneventful seconds, the Iron Legion uncloaked, tiny Iron Men appearing around Wanda and Vision, flying in perfect formation.  
\--

"You've got incoming, guys" Harley was no longer laughing as he watched on Fury's monitors. This was serious, his chance to prove himself.

Harley Keener was more than just Plan B.

"Twelve drones, locked in on some kid called Brad Davis" said Hill, also focused on the monitors.  
\--

"That's six each if we go fifty-fifty.." Wanda, too, wanted to prove herself to Fury, but she was a little concerned. "Can you handle that, Vizh? You've been out of action for a while.."

"I will have to handle it.." Vision twisted in the air to look behind him, the drones fast approaching. He was nervous too, but he had come here for the purpose of helping Peter, and hopefully getting to know him better. He wasn't going to have much luck getting to know the boy if his school bus was blown up in a drone strike. Therefore, Vision had to stop the drones.

Wanda frowned. Vision was untested in battle since his miraculous resurrection, and the last thing she wanted was to risk losing him again.

"Harley.." She murmured into her communicator, "Have the Iron Legion give extra back up to Vizh, okay?"

_"Will do."___

_ __ _

"Did you say something, Wanda?" Vision looked at her.

"Just get ready, Vizh. They're coming."

The drones, fixed on their deadly goal and nothing else, did not pay any attention to Vision, Wanda, and the Iron Legion at first, but that all changed the moment they moved to intercept them.

**"Hostile action detected."******

** **** **

"Here we go" Vision muttered. "Fifty-fifty then?"

"Fifty-fifty" Wanda nodded. "Don't let them get to the bus."

"Right."

As the drones charged forward, Vision phased his fist into one, tearing out it's circuits. Wanda halted another in it's tracks with her power before dismantling it. The Iron Legion mostly worked to slow the drones progress until Wanda or Vision reached them.

"You're brilliant, Harley" Vision yelled, hoping to encourage him.

"Yes, just keep doing what you're doing!" Wanda agreed.  
\--  
"I will!" Harley grinned, eagerly inputting instructions to the droids.

"I have to say, Keener, your Iron Legion is impressive" Fury admitted.

"Thank you, Sir" Harley's grin widened.

"How soon do you think you can make more?"

"Oh.. well, I'd need some more parts, Sir. I'm running a little low.."

"When this Mission is over, let me or Agent Hill know exactly what you need. We'll get you hooked up."

"Thank you, Sir! That would be great!"

Unnoticed by anyone else, Quentin Beck scowled slightly as he watched them. Another kid getting the keys to the Castle? No wonder Fury's operations went downhill so often.  
\--

Despite being out of practice, Vision was so in sync with Wanda that it almost didn't matter. Fighting together, they made a perfect team, just as they were the perfect team in everything else. A few more drones showed up, but everything seemed to be going well, and soon, they thought they'd taken them all down. Vision and the Scarlet Witch had everything under control, until they heard Maria Hill, speaking quite frantically.

"One of them's slipped you, it's headed for the bus!"

"Oh, la naiba.." Wanda groaned.

"We have to stop it!" Vision cried.

"I know!"

Wanda, Vision, and Harley's droids pursued the final rogue drone, but it had got a good head start on them, and was now dangerously close to the bus, preparing for a strike. There seemed to be some sort of commotion aboard the vehicle.

Wanda summoned a burst of red energy for a last ditch effort to stop it, but before she could, she saw Peter leap up through the sun roof of the bus and blast the drone, the shattered pieces falling onto the road. For a fraction of a second, his eyes locked with Vision's, surprised, but managed to give him a thumbs up as he dropped back into the bus, apparently landing on his feet.

"Well.." Vision blinked. "Peter definitely has some skills.."  
\--

"I don't understand" Wanda frowned, once she and Vision had returned to Fury's current 'Mission Control'. Fury himself had slipped away to take a phone call. "We had eyes on all the drones the whole time. How did one get by us without being noticed?"

"We only have four eyes between us.." Vision pointed out.

"But it also got by Harley's droids" Wanda added. "That's a little weird, right?"

"It is" Harley agreed, sounding concerned as he examined the returned droids. "They're supposed to have top-range hostile detection.."

"Peter was brilliant, though, wasn't he?" A note of pride in Vision's voice.

"He shouldn't have needed to be brilliant" said Wanda. "We're here to protect him."

"You guys are being too hard on yourselves" Beck cut in.

"A bus load of children were almost killed!" Wanda snapped. Something about the man rubbed her the wrong way.

"But it's nothing you did wrong" He continued. "That drone's cloaking was state-of-the-art. There's not much it couldn't have slipped past.."

Wanda frowned. How did Beck know what cloaking capabilities the drone had? Vision, her poor naive fiance, remained oblivious.

"I suppose you are right" said Vision. "Thank you for the kind words, Quentin."

"No problem. We're a team now, right?" Beck grinned.

Wanda scowled. Next time Beck tripped up, and he would, she was going to call him out on it.


	9. He Believed In You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has a talk with Vision.

With the accidental drone attack detour over and done with, Fury steered them all back towards reviewing the plans for the upcoming battle with the Fire Elemental.

The most important part of the plan, according to Beck, was to make sure that the Elemental did not get it's hands on too much metal. If it did, the monstrous creature would be able to destroy the Earth's core, as it had supposedly destroyed Beck's world.

While almost everyone else seemed to be hanging on Beck's words, Wanda listened only grudgingly. However, she found herself somewhat comforted when Vision gently squeezed her shoulder. Vision could almost always settle her when she was uncomfortable about something. And, turning to kiss her fiance's cheek, she noticed a slightly unusual expression on his face as he listened to Beck.

Perhaps she was not the only one who didn't entirely trust the man from another world.  
\--

Once they arrived in Prague, Fury had them all set up with rooms in the same motel as Peter's class, but on a different floor. As a reward for the Iron Legion's impressive performance, Harley had been given a room of his own, leaving Wanda and Vision with alone time for the first time since this new adventure had begun.

As they got ready for bed, Wanda was a little concerned to realise that her fiance' seemed troubled, and tried putting aside her own concerns for a while in order to comfort him.

"Hey.." Her arms wrapped around him from behind, fingers tracing the scarred section of Vision's chest that Tony had painstakingly repaired, "You were great Today. Absolut briliant."

"Was I? Vision sighed. "I'm supposed to be here to help Peter, but Peter saved himself.."

"He didn't do it alone, Vizh" Wanda reminded him. "Only one drone got past us, and Peter just got in a very lucky shot, to be honest.."

"I know.. I know. But it's not just that.. I think you may be right about Mr. Beck..Something seems.. off.."

"It does.." Wanda agreed. "I'm still not sure exactly what.."

"Neither am I.. There was just a moment.. he seemed familiar, but I can't remember how, or why.." Vision groaned. His somewhat patchy memory of his life before being restored was still a source of great frustration for him.

"It's okay, Vizh.." Wanda held him a little tighter. "You'll remember. Until then, we'll just keep a close eye on him."

"I suppose so" Vision managed a small smile. Then they jumped, both slightly startled by a knock on the door. They fell silent, not sure whether to answer, until a familiar voice spoke.

"Hello? Gosh, I hope I've got the right room.."

"Peter.." Vision, slightly confused, donned his human disguise before hurrying to open the door.

Wanda quickly pulled on a jacket over her nightdress, since it didn't feel entirely appropriate to be wearing just a nightie in front of her husband to be's teenage brother.

"Damn it, I'm so sorry I..Oh..." Peter began when Vision opened the door, then trailed off, confused, when he saw Wanda. "Is, uh, Vision here?"

It took Vision a moment to realise that Peter didn't recognise his human form.

"I am Vision" Vision chuckled. "I'm in disguise, you see."

"Oh, right" Peter smiled sheepishly. "I wanted to come and thank you guys for the thing with the bus.."

"You're welcome, Draga." Wanda smiled at him.

"We are here to help" Vision smiled too.

"Well, thanks.. Can I talk to you for a minute, Vision?" Peter asked.

"Well.." Vision glanced at Wanda.

"Go, Vizh" Wanda told him. After all, one of the reasons they were here was for Vision to bond with Peter. "I'll be fine here."  
\--

Wandering the hall together, Peter attempted to explain everything to Vision. How Peter had come into possession of the 'E.D.I.T.H' glasses, how Brad Davis incriminating photo of Peter in his underwear with Fury's agent, and how he had accidentally triggered the drone strike on Brad in his desperate efforts to keep Brad from showing MJ the photo.

"It seems that you have some rather strong feelings for this young lady" Vision chuckled.

"Yeah" Peter blushed. "She's pretty cool. I had all these plans for how I was going to ask her out when we were supposed to be going to Paris.."

"I'm sorry those plans were ruined for you."

"Ah, I can probably work something else out. I'm glad I stopped Brad from seeing that photo, but I really am sorry about the accidental drone strike. This E.D.I.T.H thing might be a little too big for me, so.." Peter pulled a pair of what looked like Tony's glasses out of his pocket, "I was thinking maybe you should take them."

"Peter, no" Vision frowned. "I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Tony chose you for a reason."

"Yeah, but that was when he thought you were dead" Peter pointed out.

"We were both dead" Vision argued, for a moment actually feeling like they were brothers. "But you had a greater chance of coming back than I did."

"That's kinda my point" Peter thrust the glasses at Vision once again. "If he'd known you were an option, he never would have picked me."

"I really don't think that's true" Vision pressed the glasses back into Peter's hands. "It was always going to be you. He believed in you, Peter. So much."

"He did?"

"He did."

"What about.. The other kid? The new intern, Harvey."

"Harley" Vision gently corrected him. "Tony believed in him too, but he's a.. He maybe needed a little more time. His strengths are in different areas. I think you should try and get to know him a little better, when you get the chance. Tony would have wanted you two to get along."

"Yeah.. I can try" Peter smiled. "And I'm still not sure I'm the best person to have E.D.I.T.H, but I'll hang onto it for now. Thanks for the talk, Vision."

"You're welcome.. go get a good night's sleep, we have a big day coming up."

"You too.. Do you sleep?"

"Not exactly" Vision chuckled. "But I do need some rest, and I should be getting back to Wanda."

"Okay" Peter nodded, heading back to his floor. "See you for the mission.."

"See you then."

Vision watched Peter go with a smile on his face.


	10. No More Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Wanda and Vision comfort each other the night before they are due to battle the Fire Elemental, Beck makes potentially deadly alterations to his plan.

Vision was still smiling when he returned to his own motel room shortly afterwards. Wanda listened to his recounting of his conversation with Peter with a fond smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes, glad to see him so happy.

"I am glad you and Peter had a chance to talk, Vizh.." She gently ran her fingers over Vision's head as they settled together in bed, ready to rest and prepare for the battle the following evening would bring. "It seems like you really helped him."

"Well, I certainly hope I did.." Vision sighed. "He still seems so unsure of himself.."

"He's a teenager" Wanda chuckled. "Being unsure of himself comes with the territory. He's got plenty of time to work things out, including with this girl he likes so much.."

"MJ. He was rather disappointed that he couldn't reveal his feelings for her in Paris like he originally planned.."

"Well, maybe when this fight is over, we can help him think of a new plan. It is not unusual for big brothers to help little brothers with their love lives, and you do have some experience in that area.." Wanda lightly teased him.

"I suppose.." Vision chuckled for a moment, then frowned, pulling Wanda closer.

"Is something wrong, Vizh?" She asked, her brow furrowing in concern.

"No.. It's just.. Tomorrow" Vision sighed.

"What about it?"

"I feel a bit.. useless.."

The knowledge that the Fire Elemental grew more powerful by absorbing anything metal pushed both Vision and Harley's droids onto the sidelines, which now put a lot more pressure on Wanda and Peter.

Vision was to stay back and attack from a distance- If he could even do that, because, Vision felt ashamed of himself for only just now remembering, the energy beams he had once fired from his head were a gift of the Mind Stone, and without it..

"Taur rahat."

"What?" Vision blinked, slightly surprised at his fiancee's vulgar language.

"You heard me" Wanda frowned. "Taur rahat. Bullshit. You are not useless, Vision. You can't help that you're partially made of metal. You'll just have to be helpful from a distance."

"I'm not sure I can.. without the stone.."

"I believe that you can. You've always been more than the Stone, Vizh. The fact that you're even here now proves that."

"I suppose.. but if I have to stay away, how am I supposed to protect Peter?"

"Not away. Just back a little. I will look out for Peter."

"But who is going to look out for you?" Vision frowned.

"I think I can take care of myself" Wanda frowned back at him. "People don't get a name like the Scarlet Witch for no reason.."

"I know" Vision sighed. "I know. I'm completely confident in your ability to take care of yourself. There's just so many factors in play. What if we're right, and Beck is up to something? So many things could go wrong.. "

At that, Wanda frowned herself. As much as she liked to think she could handle any crazy scheme Quentin Beck was planning to pull, Vision was, unfortunately, completely right. If life had taught Wanda Maximoff anything, it was that even with the best laid plans, things could go wrong. And unfortunately, Wanda was a person for whom things very often went wrong.

But things were changing for her. Getting better. Right then, at that moment, Wanda chose to believe that would continue, because if not.. What the Hell was she even still fighting for? Still, even believing that..

Wanda kissed Vision, deeply, only breaking it when she needed air.

"You're right, Vizh" She told him. She cupped his cheek, gazing at him, making sure to memorise every small detail of his face. "You're right. Things could go wrong. I don't think they will. I think that everything will be alright. But just.. Just in case it's not.. We already wasted one 'last night' because we didn't know it was the last. At least this time we have a bit of warning. So.. I really wouldn't want to make the same mistake a second time.. would you?"

For the briefest of moments, Vision was going to object. To argue that they both needed to rest in preparation for the fight to come.. But he stopped himself, because Wanda was right too.

"No" He whispered. "No more mistakes.." Vision kissed Wanda, just as deeply and passionately as she had kissed him, and didn't object when he felt her smile against his lips, carefully pulling him on top of her.  
\--

Elsewhere, Quentin Beck was going over the plan once again. Of course, this wasn't the plan with which everyone else was familiar, but his own, somewhat more sinister plot to gain control of Tony Stark's Edith drones for himself.

Everything had been going so well to begin with. He'd made his move at just the right time, told just the right story to get Nick Fury and his little lapdog Maria Hill onside, and Fury had manoeuvred poor, sweet little Peter Parker into the right place at the right time. So far, the boy seemed to be eating out of the palm of Beck's hand.

The only flaw in the plan had been the unexpected arrival of the damn 'Children Of Iron', as they'd called themselves. Thankfully, they could be easily dealt with for the most part.

The other boy, Keener, was clever, and he did have a few cool little toys, and The Vision was an impressive machine, but the two of them had been sidelined by the need to 'keep the Fire Elemental away from Metal'.. A stroke of genius, even if he had not known why at the time.

The only real problem, was the Witch. Wanda Maximoff did not trust Quentin Beck, that much was clear. It hadn't been an issue so far, but if she got into Parker's head, or Fury's..

He couldn't take that risk, not when his meticulous planning was coming so close to fruition. Thankfully, Beck had been open from the start about just how dangerous and potentially life-threatening this situation was.

He grinned wickedly, making a few last minute programming changes to his own drones. If Wanda Maximoff was to suffer a tragic accident in battle, no one would suspect a thing..


	11. More Human Than Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vision and Peter share a sweet conversation before the battle with the Fire Elemental begins.

Wanda and Vision made love for hours, not wanting to waste the time they had together.

Most of the following day was spent repeatedly going over the plan (minus Peter who had to keep up appearances by remaining with his class), making sure everybody knew what they had to do. Beck put on what seemed to Wanda like a very grand performance, reminding them all how serious the threat they were facing was. How dangerous the Fire Elemental was going to be.

While she didn't trust Quentin Beck one bit, Wanda did believe that there was a threat, that something was coming. She could sense it, could feel the scarlet energy crackling just beneath her skin in anticipation of a fight. What she wasn't sure of was whether Beck was really there to stop the threat, or help it.

Wanda could have read Beck's mind, but this was an ability that she had not tapped into for quite sometime, mostly due to a crippling guilt over the terrible events she had contributed to the last time she had used it. Now, Wanda thought she was a little too rusty with that particular power to trust anything she might see.

Unfortunately, this meant that neither she nor Vision had any evidence to take to Fury and Hill to support their suspicions, so the only option they really had was to keep their eyes open. Hope for the best, but always be ready for the worst.  
\--

Tension grew in the air as evening approached. So far, it seemed like everything was going to plan.. Apart from the large festival going on in the streets bringing a risk of civilian casualties. Again, all they could really do was hope for the best, try and keep the beast contained, and limit damage. At least, as far as they knew, all of Peter's classmates had been ushered back to the safety of their Hotel.

All that was left to do was for everyone to get into position, and wait for the Fire Elemental to make it's appearance.

"Wanda.." Vision grabbed his fiancee's hand one last time before they were forced to part. He was buzzing with nervous energy. "Please, be careful."

"You too, Vizh" She pulled him in for a quick kiss. "I know you're worried, but stick to the plan. Stay back unless we really need you. You and I have a Wedding to stay alive for."

"And Morgan" Vision added. "We promised her."

"And Morgan" Wanda agreed, kissing him again. "I love you, Vision."

"I love you too, Wanda..

"Now let's go beat this Monstru de foc."

"Yes, let's go."  
\--

A short while later, everyone had taken their positions. Vision was in a tower with Peter, keeping watch over the festival goers below, all oblivious to the approaching danger. He knew Wanda was somewhere in the crowd, undercover, while Harley's droids, cloaked from view, circled the area at a safe distance.

Peter squirmed slightly in his new 'Stealth' suit. Vision glanced at him, concerned.

"Are you alright, Peter?" He asked.

"Yeah, just this new suit. It's a little tight around the old web-shooter, you know?" Peter mumbled. "Do you know? I mean, do you even have a.. Sorry, I guess that's kind of a personal question.."

"It's alright" Vision chuckled. "And to answer your question, yes, I do have a.. you know."

"Oh, okay.. That explains some things.."

"Like what?"

"Nothing.."

"Peter.." Vision frowned. He wanted to be someone the boy could talk to, freely. "If you have questions, it is okay to ask them."

"Well.." Peter pushed his mask-up, revealing that his cheeks were blushing bright pink, "I was kinda wondering how you and Wanda.. But what you just said, that explains it."

"Oh.." Vision's own face turned a slightly deeper shade of red.

"Sorry.."

"It's alright. I understand why my relationship would be a source of curiosity. I'm not exactly human.."

"Huh? Of course you are."

"You think so?" Vision felt a spark of warmth in his synthetic heart.

"Sure." Remembering the job at hand, Peter pulled his mask back on and hopped up to crouch in the window for a better view of the goings-on below. "Once, Mr. Stark told me that he thought you were more human than he was, most of the time."

A small smile tugged at Vision's lips.

"Thank you for telling me that, Peter."

"No problem.." Peter began, before Fury's voice crackled through their comms.  
\--

"Energy spiking.." He said, eye on their monitoring equipment.

"There's seismic activity.." added Hill.

Harley briefly looked up from the Legion's controls to glance between their stern faces.

"Here we go.." He gulped.  
\--

Wanda got a front row seat to the beginning of the show. Saw the water in the fountain bubble and steam, the ground cracking from the heat of the molten-hot magma that made-up the Fire Elemental's body as it rose from beneath the ground.

As the festival-goers began to scream and run from the beast, Wanda ditched the extra coat she'd been wearing to blend in with the crowd, and threw up her hands, creating a scarlet shield in an effort to protect the civilians as they fled. Something about the Creature's appearance seemed strange.. intangible, despite the destruction it was already causing. In the corner of her eye, she saw Beck land nearby, saw Peter swinging into action. Then, she became slightly distracted by a voice behind her.

"You're the Scarlet Witch.."

Wanda vaguely recognised the person to whom the voice belonged, a girl from Peter's class. Why did dumb teenagers always have to sneak out to find trouble at the worst possible time?

"You are supposed to be safe in your Hotel" She replied through gritted teeth. "Run!"

To her credit, the girl ran without further prompting.  
\--

Vision hovered above the scene of the battle, waiting for his moment. Despite their best efforts, Peter and Beck had been unable to stop the Elemental from absorbing the carousel, even when Wanda had joined in properly after steering the civilians to safety.

Focusing, and hoping, Vision took aim, and fired, what was now a red beam rather than the former gold, in what seemed like a direct hit. At first, Vision was pleased with the realisation that he had retained this power, but the beam did not seem to have had any effect at all..  
\--

Meanwhile, Harley was strapped into the back seat of a a car, zooming along with Fury and Hill to the site of the battle. He felt rather useless. For all the work he'd put into his droids, they were not at all useful right now, against a beast that consumed metal.

If only he could have stepped up. Been ready for a suit of his own. Then he truly could have helped..  
\--

Back at the sight of the battle, things seemed to be improving as the combatants hurled non-metal debris at the Fire Elemental, and Vision continued to shoot from a distance, all to keep the monster from reaching the Ferris Wheel.

It was then that Wanda spotted them. The Teenagers on the Wheel, yelling 'Night Monkey', for reasons she did not understand. It didn't matter, she had to help them.

"There are kids on the Ferris wheel!" She yelled. Unfortunately, as she flew up to get them, Beck 'accidentally' struck her with another piece of debris, knocking her out and sending her flying into the distance.

Vision screamed.

"Wanda!"


	12. The Green Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Vision tries to rescue Ned and Betty from the Ferris Wheel, MJ finds herself unexpectedly aiding an injured Scarlet Witch.

"Oh no!" Beck seemed immediately distraught by the 'accident', but Vision could see right through him now. The only thing keeping Vision from blasting Beck into oblivion was the fact that the man was currently shielding Peter from the Elemental's wrath. Vision continued to fire blasts at the beast, keeping his distance as he had promised, but becoming frustrated when he didn't seem to be doing any damage.

As Peter and Beck began hurling pieces of non-metal debris at the elemental, Vision turned his attention to Wanda's task before her unfortunate not-an-accident: Rescuing the two teenagers trapped on the ferris wheel.

He was comforted by the fact that Beck clearly had no idea what he was dealing with. It would take more than a little blow like that to get rid of Wanda Maximoff.  
\--

"Have we got any word from Maximoff?" Fury yelled, as the car continued barrelling along the streets of Prague.

"Nothing yet, Sir" Hill replied.

Harley, huddled in the back seat, felt sick. Wanda had been so good to him, kind and patient and tolerant of a stupid teenager's crush. Now she was hurt, maybe worse, and he couldn't help thinking he should have done more.  
\--

Meanwhile, having been hiding in a side-street a relatively safe distance from the worst of the battle, Michelle Jones, aka MJ, had crept out to retrieve a strange piece of debris, and had just tucked it into her bag when the unconscious Scarlet Witch landed beside her with a thud. MJ yelped in surprise, relaxing only the tiniest bit when she saw what had happened.

"Crap.." MJ knelt beside the downed Avenger, finding her bleeding from a small gash on the head, unconscious, but breathing. "Uh, Miss Witch? Are you alright?" Of course she wasn't, because she was still unconscious. Looking around and finding absolutely no-one else available to help, MJ groaned, seizing Wanda under the arms and dragging her back to the safety of the side-street. "Please wake up.. I'm really not equipped to deal with this.."  
\--

For now at least, Spider-Man and 'Mysterio' appeared to have the Elemental under some sort of control, so Vision circled the Ferris Wheel in search of the quickest, safest way to get the teens down.

"Whoa!" Exclaimed the boy, whom Vision now recognised as Ned, a regular companion of Peter's. "You're The Vision!"

"I thought The Vision was dead?" Said the girl, confused.

"Well.." Before Vision could explain, there came a mighty roar from the Fire Elemental, as a tower of metal fell to be absorbed into it. "No time. Grab onto me, both of you!"

Beck seemed to be charging at the Monster, ignoring Peter's desperate objections.  
\--

Back in the side-street while all that was going on, MJ had been nursing Wanda's head in her lap, pressing a handful of tissues to her wound.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up.." MJ begged. "I am not cut out for this.." Slowly, the Scarlet Witch began to stir. "Oh, Thank Iron Man.." She didn't exactly believe in God, but if there was an afterlife where dead people went, he was as good a person as any to thank, right?

Wanda winced at the throbbing pain in her head, blinking until her eyes focused on the concerned young face above her.

"Eugh.. What happened?"

"Uh.. The big fire thing, probably.."

"The Elemental! I have to get back.." Wanda leapt to her feet, and almost immediately stumbled.

"Whoa.." MJ ran to catch her. "Careful, you've probably got a concussion or something, and you're still bleeding.."

Wanda blinked again, trying to clear a bit of the fuzziness from her mind. Looked toward the scene of the still raging battle. She could just see Vision hovering above the chaos, and knowing that he was alright, relaxed just a little, turning her attention to the girl who had been helping her. She looked familiar..

"Do I know you?.."

"You told me to run? Probably should have kept going, but I'm investigating this guy that I li.. I know. I'm.. My friends call me MJ.. Not that I've got that many."

A small smile tugged at Wanda's lips. So, this was the girl Peter liked so much. She had to say, she liked the boy's taste, as she could see a little of herself in MJ. Wanda too had been the weird, socially awkward girl in High School.

"It was brave of you to help me, MJ" Wanda smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome.." MJ's eyes lit up. "Hey, do you know Spider-Man? Because I have a theory about that guy I.."

The girl was interrupted by a large explosion, sending a ripple of strange green light through the streets of Prague.

Wanda gasped, as the explosion somehow sent crackle of static through her communicator.  
\--

Vision winced at the static himself as it caused a minor interference with some of his circuits, but quickly recovered. With Ned and the girl, Betty, now clinging to him, he couldn't afford to falter.

"Are you two alright?"

"Yes, Mr. Vision, Sir" Ned replied, while Betty just hurriedly nodded.

Vision glanced around the aftermath of the explosion. He saw Peter running to the aid of a motionless Beck, and Harley climbing out of Fury's car, which had pulled up in the closing moments of the battle. Reassured that his brothers were both safe, Vision turned his attention back to the task at hand.

"I'll drop you both at your Hotel, alright?" He told his young charges, who both nodded.

Then, he had to find Wanda..  
\--

"It was nice to meet you, MJ, but I really should get back.." Wanda needed to find Vision, and check that the boys were okay. Still a little too dizzy to trust herself flying, she ran instead. "Get yourself back to the Hotel now, okay?"

"Right.. Oh, hey, I found this weird.." MJ opened her bag to try and show Wanda the strange object she'd found, but the Scarlet Witch had already disappeared into the returning crowd.

MJ shrugged, shutting it again. She'd just have to show Peter instead. That kid was definitely Spider-Man.


	13. Help Needed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With all the adults handling other matters, Peter asks for Harley's help after uncovering the truth about Mysterio.

Soon afterwards, Vision deposited Ned and Betty outside the Hotel.

He received a few puzzled looks from people around, because, as he had realised while rescuing the young couple, most of the World was still under the impression that Vision was dead. This wasn't really an Earth-shattering realisation, as he hadn't any reason to believe that anyone aside from the surviving Avengers and Avenger-affiliated persons knew that he was alive. They'd kept the matter quiet. Before this trip, Vision could have counted the places he'd been since his resurrection on less than one hand. He'd been in no rush to reveal himself, even after he'd mostly recovered from his ordeal. Vision had enjoyed his new quiet life with Wanda, Pepper, and Morgan much more than his public one as an Avenger.

Well, his return to life was out of the bag now, but he would have to deal with any consequences of that reveal later. Now, he just had to find Wanda. He had no idea how badly she'd been hurt, and he desperately hoped she was alright. If not.. Well, that wasn't worth thinking about.

"You two should be alright now" said Vision, turning to Betty and Ned. "I think the trouble is over. But please, just stay here at the Hotel, at least for the rest of the night, preferably until your School Teachers bring better instructions."

"We will Mr. Vision" Ned nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Stay safe, kids." Vision took off just as the rest of Peter's class returned from their not-so-thrilling night at the Opera.

"Whoa!" Flash Thompson whipped out his phone, his camera managing to catch a brief shot of Vision's fluttering golden cape as he flew into the distance. "That was The Vision!"

"I thought he was dead.." Mr. Dell frowned, confused.

"How did he know we were on a School trip?" asked Betty, turning to Ned.

"Uh.." Ned giggled nervously, "Super robot brain?"  
\--

While his search for Wanda was, at first, depressingly fruitless, he breathed a sigh of relief when he returned to the site of the battle in search of help. Harley was using his droids to help with the clean-up, overseen by Maria Hill and other members of Fury's team, Peter seemed to be moping a little atop a nearby building.. And there was Wanda, arguing with Fury as she refused to get into an 'Ambulance', manned by Fury's own people, of course, and be taken for medical attention.

"I'm not going anywhere until I know that Vision is safe!" Wanda snapped, not caring one bit that the man at whom she was snapping was probably one of the most powerful people she'd ever met. "He's still fragile right now.. How the Hell could you lose him?!"

"Our Comms were knocked out after the battle" Fury replied, surprisingly calm. "But from what I could tell, Vision just went to drop the teen lovebirds back at the Hotel. I assure you, he is absolutely.."

"Wanda!" Vision cried, running to embrace her as he landed.

"Vizh!" Wanda returned his embrace, relieved.

Distracted by their reunion, neither of them noticed Beck leaving to 'comfort' Peter.

"Absolutely fine" Fury finished. "Now get in and get that head wound treated, Maximoff. You're much too valuable to lose."

"I'd take that as a compliment if I were you" Hill called, and Harley chuckled. "That's probably the closest you'll get to hearing him admit that he likes you."

Fury huffed in what seemed s very un-Fury like manner, but Wanda, much more inclined to behave now that she knew Vision was alright, hopped into the Ambulance, and no-one objected when Vision travelled with her.

"Are you alright?" Vision held her hand as Fury's medics began cleaning her head wound. "What happened?"

"Just an accident with a piece of resturi" Said Wanda. "The wound is in exactly the same place as the scar Proxima Midnight gave me, so once it heals up, no-one will know the difference. And I met MJ. She seems like a very nice girl."

The look Wanda gave him let Vision know that they both knew what had really happened to her during the battle, but unfortunately, there wasn't much they could do to prove it. Vision suddenly felt rather troubled by the fact that he'd left Peter and Harley alone while someone like Beck was floating around, but.. They were both smart boys. Everything would be fine.  
\--

Hill dropped Harley back at the Hotel, telling him to stay put until Wanda or Vision came to collect him. Sometime later, say, about three minutes after Peter Parker had left with MJ, hoping for one night of fun before their trip was supposed to end, Harley Keener decided to ignore Hill's instructions and go for a walk as well.

He didn't mean to be disobedient, he actually quite liked Agent Hill. Harley just really needed some fresh air, and time to think. A few things were just not adding up. For one, as much as he'd studied the matter, Harley could not for the life of him work out what had interfered with his droids during the battle to stop the drone strike. Now, cleaning up after the defeat of the Fire Elemental, he couldn't help but notice that there was slightly less damage than you would expect from such an event.

Unknowingly walking some way behind Peter and MJ, Harley was too lost in his thoughts to notice the first flicker of the hologram projector MJ had been carrying with her, but he definitely saw the second. A monstrous creature, and Mysterio apparently fighting it. Standing in shock for a moment until the image disappeared, he ran towards the pair of teenagers, one of whom he recognised as Peter.

"We really need to go.." Peter was saying to the girl accompanying him, who looked excited and terrified in almost equal measure.

"What the Hell was that?" Harley cried as he approached.

"Whoa!" MJ jumped, startled. "Who are you?"

"Harvey!" This time, Peter looked happy to see him.

"Harley" Harley corrected, only slightly annoyed. They had only just met, after all, and the names were similar.

"Right, sorry" And Peter really did sound sorry. "Listen, I really messed up, and I could use your help."

"Oh" Harley's eyes lit up. "Sure, what can I do?"

"Come with us, I'll explain on the way.."

Both boys took off running. MJ gazed after them for a moment, confused, then shrugged and followed, a smile on her face.

"I can't believe I worked it out!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> Resturi: Debris


	14. Memories Of B.A.R.F

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vision remembers a previous encounter with Beck.

Once back at the Hotel, after first explaining to Ned that MJ knew Peter was Spider-Man, and introducing him to Harley, the teens quickly formed a plan of action.

"Everyone knows what they're supposed to do, right?" asked Peter, a little nervous, once he was fully suited up. He had really messed up big this time. "I go warn Mr. Fury and Agent Hill about Mysterio.."

"MJ and I will cover for you with Mr. Harrington and Mr. Dell" added Ned, while MJ nodded.

"And I'll go find out what hospital Wanda got taken to and warn her and Vision" Harley finished.

"Huh?" MJ's brow crinkled, confused. "I thought The Vision was dead.."  
\--

Due to her head wound, the Hospital chose to keep Wanda in overnight for observation. Vision, in his human disguise to avoid any unnecessary panic in a hospital already full of panicking people, waited by her bedside the entire time, trying, and failing, to make her relax.

"We have to get out of here, Vision!" Wanda argued. "We have to get back to Peter, and Harley! Who knows what rahat Beck could be.. " She tried to get up, almost immediately feeling dizzy. "Whoa.."

"Careful.." Vision gently pushed her back down onto the bed, pressing a kiss to the bandage that now covered her wound. "I'm worried about them too. But you won't be much good to them while you have a concussion. You need to rest, Wanda. Even if it's just for a few hours."

"I know.." Wanda huffed, relenting, albeit reluctantly so. "It's just frustrating, not being able to do anything.."

"Peter and Harley are both smart boys. I'm sure they can handle themselves for a little while" Vision held Wanda's hand, hoping to distract her from her frustrations. "Tell me about MJ. Peter definitely seems besotted with her.."

"Like I said, she seems like a nice girl.. Brave, too" Wanda managed a small smile. "She dragged me out of harm's way when I was unconscious."

"Then I think I already like her" Vision smiled back.  
\--

Harley was becoming frustrated. As it turned out, finding Wanda and Vision was a lot more difficult than he had anticipated when he'd agreed to the task. Throughout the night and into the next morning, he streets of Prague were packed with people, probably gossiping excitedly about the events of the previous evening. Well, Harley assumed that's what they were talking about since it was the only street-packingly interesting thing to happen recently, but very few of them were speaking English and so he couldn't be sure.

He also couldn't ask them for directions to the nearest Hospital.

To make things even worse, his Iron Legion droids were out of power, so Harley couldn't use them to track his new friends/mentors.

Peter was probably already in Berlin by now meeting with Fury, and Ned and MJ were on a plane headed for London, so he couldn't turn to them for help either.

Just after Noon, right when Harley was beginning to feel completely and utterly useless, to believe he wasn't worth being Tony's Plan D let alone Plan B, he finally located the Hospital.. Conveniently, just as Vision and the recently discharged Wanda walked out through the exit.

"Oh Thank God!" Harley exclaimed the moment he saw them.

"Harley!" cried Vision, a bit puzzled, but relieved to see his little brother. "I thought You would still be at the Hotel.”

"It's good that you're here" Wanda began. "Listen.."

"You guys need to be really careful of.." Harley added.

"Beck!" All three finished in unison.

"Wait" Harley was puzzled. "How did you guys know what Beck was planning?"

"Noi nu" said Wanda, before remembering that Harley couldn't understand Sokovian, and translating herself for his benefit. "We didn't. We suspected he was up to something, and my 'accident' during the battle was clearly not actually an accident, but we don't know any exact details."

"However, it seems like you do" Vision looked at the boy. "Tell us what you know, Harley."

"Right. Finding you guys took a bit longer than I thought, so we should probably keep moving while I explain.."  
\--

So, as the reunited Children Of Iron made their way through the crowded streets of Prague, Harley launched into the explanation of everything he had discovered with Peter and MJ the night before, and Peter's mistake in handing control of E.D.I.T.H to Beck.

Wanda's expression became increasingly grim throughout the story. Vision's did as well, but for a slightly different reason. Something about all of this, the holograms Beck was using seems familiar. His brow furrowed, trying to grasp the memory fully as it hovered at the edge of his mind..

"Where's Peter now?" Wanda asked Harley, too focused on the boy's story to notice Vision's struggle.

"He was going to Berlin to warn Mr. Fury and Agent Hill about.."

"B.A.R.F!" Vision suddenly shouted, causing a few passersby to give the trio quite a wide berth.

"No, Beck.." said Harley, confused.

"Are you feeling sick, Vizh?" Wanda frowned, equally puzzled by her fiance's sudden outburst.

"No. I guess Tony never did come up with a better acronym.."

"For what?" asked Wanda.

"B.A.R.F" Vision repeated, causing another mass exodus of people from their general vicinity. "Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing. I remember now.. I met Beck once, briefly. He worked for Stark Industries, and he invented the framework for holographic illusions. Tony used it for therapeutic purposes, revisiting old memories."

"I remember when he went to present that" Wanda realised. "You mentioned it to me, because you were coordinating his schedule at the time, while he and Pepper were on a break just before.." she trailed off awkwardly.

"Before the Accords" Vision finished sombrely. "Beck was upset because he thought Tony was wasting the potential of his program.. Tony fired him for being unstable."

"We have to go help Peter, then" said Harley, suddenly determined. "If Beck is really as crazy as he sounds, he could be in big trouble."

"You're right" Wanda agreed. "We'll head for Berlin as soon as we.."

They were interrupted when Vision's cellphone rang. Vision jumped, forgetting he'd even had the thing, then checked the caller I.D and answered.

"Happy, hello.." He paused, listening. "No, we're still in Prague why would we.. Peter is where?!.." Wanda and Harley shared concerned looks. "You're going to get him? Good, we'll meet you there.." Vision disconnected the call, and Wanda looked at him questioningly.

"What was that about?"

"Forget Berlin. We're going to the Netherlands."


	15. The Best Of Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Children Of Iron help boost Peter's confidence.

"How are we going to get to the Netherlands?" Harley questioned. "Agent Fury's in Berlin, Happy's already taken the Jet to go get Peter, so he can't pick us up, and Beck's probably onto us by now, so he'll be watching the public transport.."

"Well, I suppose we will just have to fly ourselves" said Vision. "Hang on to me please, Harley. Nice and tight."

"Okay.." Harley, though slightly confused, did as Vision had instructed, "But how.. Whoa!"

Foregoing any concern for their anonymity in favour of concern for Peter's safety instead, Vision dropped his disguise and took to the sky, causing quite a commotion as the people of Prague began to point and gasp at the sudden appearance of a supposedly dead Avenger.

Wanda laughed, adding to the commotion as she took off after them.

"Vizh has always been great at making an entrance.."  
\--

And so, they flew, as fast as they could safely fly with Harley clinging to Vision's back. A few times throughout their trip, Wanda offered to take Harley for a while, to carry him with her magic as she had done in Venice the night they had first tracked down Fury and Peter, but Vision refused, not wanting Wanda to over exert herself after her head injury. Wanda had, at first, objected to her fiance's reasons for refusing, but eventually backed off, realising the situation was another opportunity for the brothers to bond.

Although the teen had been a little startled when Vision had first taken off, now that he had adjusted to the sensation of speeding through the air, his grip on Vision secure, Harley was actually quite enjoying himself.

"So, this is what flying's like?" Harley asked, letting out a slight whoop when Vision sped up a little.

"It is" Vision had replied.

"This is awesome! I really should have let Tony make me a suit.."

"Maybe Peter will help you design one" Vision suggested. "He's quite good with that type of thing."

"Yeah" Harley's eyes lit up. "That would be great."

Vision smiled. He quite liked carrying Harley, the boy a pleasant, warm weight against his back. It was thrilling, in a terrifying sort of way, being completely responsible for another person's safety, having them rely on you. He imagined that this was how Parents must feel. It was feeling Vision would never really know, and he felt a little sad about that. However, as he cast a glance at Wanda flying beside him, Vision felt sadder at the thought that, being with him, Parenthood was something that she would never know either. That seemed a tragedy now, after seeing her with Morgan, with Harley and Peter.. Wanda would be a wonderful Mother. Maybe they could adopt..

"Copi de fier, prepare for landing.." said Wanda, oblivious to Vision's musings as she pointed to a field of flowers below them. "I've got eyes on the Jet.."

Vision sped up, and Harley only just managed to tighten his grip enough to avoid flying off.

"Whoa!"  
\--

The trio soon landed and bolted into the jet.. Only to feel immediately awkward as they stumbled into the middle of what seemed to be a very emotionally charged conversation between Happy and Peter.

"..The one thing Tony ever did that he didn't second guess was picking you" Happy was telling Peter. Vision was quite distressed to see that his little brother looked rather battered. "I don't think Tony would have done what he did if he didn't know that you were going to be here after he was gone."

Peter looked at Happy, still sceptical. Vision hesitated, unsure whether he was the right person to help right now, until Wanda nudged him forward.

"Peter, Happy is right" Vision knelt by Peter's seat. "Before he.. Tony left me a letter for if I ever woke up. He asked me to watch over you, you too, Harley.." He gestured for the other boy to come closer, "And to let you both know that he was proud of you. What he did.. what he sacrificed.. He did it for you. For us. In the three of us, and little Morgan.. He left behind the best of him."

"But.." Peter bit his lip, "I messed up so bad.."

"We all mess up sometimes" Wanda laid a comforting hand on Peter's shoulder. "I know that better than anyone else on this plane. What really matters is what you do to fix it."

"So" Happy cut in, with what sounded like a hint of pride in his voice, "Your friends are in trouble, your tech is missing, and you've only got a rag-tag bunch of misfits to help you.. What are you going to do about it?"

Peter thought for a moment, then stood, determined.

"I'm gonna kick his ass!"

"Yeah!" Harley whooped and offered Peter his hand, smiling when, this time, Peter shook it without hesitation. "Children of Iron taking action!"

"Children of Iron, huh?" Peter smiled slightly. "I kinda like the sound of that."

"Uh, I like the enthusiasm kids" Happy interrupted, "But I meant what are we going to do right now, because we've been hovering over a tulip field for the last twenty minutes.."

"Oh, right.." said Peter, both he and Harley looking a little sheepish. "Happy, give me your phone.."

Peter quickly discovered that his classmates, currently at the top of Beck's hit list, were in London.

"Right, destination London.." Happy headed for the cockpit.

"Hang on, I need a suit!" cried Peter, slightly panicked.

Happy smirked, pressing a button that opened a secret compartment at the back of the plane, revealing a high-tech, portable lab that Tony had often used to work on his suits.

"Well.." Wanda blinked. "That's impressive."

"Wow.." Peter ran to the machines. "Bring up everything you have on Spider-Man.."

As the machine activated, showing Peter his options, Harley's shoulders slumped, a little put out.

"I wish I had a suit.."

"Well, maybe we can find something here for you, too.." Peter replied. "I'm gonna need all the help I can get. Let's see.."

A sudden memory flashed through Vision's mind.

"Try asking for the Potato files" He suggested.

"Alright.." Peter was a little confused, but took the suggestion. "We want everything from the Potato files too."

A second set of plans appeared alongside the Spider-Man designs, plans for what looked like Iron Man suits in about Harley's size.

"Oh, that is so cool!" Harley ran to stand beside Peter as they both got to work. "Hey Vision, you know how all Tony's suits worked, right? Come help me pick some stuff!"

"Of course" As Vision joined his brothers in the Lab, a smile spreading over his face, Wanda took a seat, happy to let the boys do their thing.

Happy watched them with a slightly wistful expression.

"What?" Peter looked at him, confused.

"Nevermind" Happy smiled softly, turning back to the job at hand. "You guys keep working on those suits, I'll handle the tunes.."

Soon, a familiar song boomed through the Jet's speakers.

"Cool, I love Led Zepellin!" Peter cried.

Wanda burst out laughing, and Happy lost a little of his hope for humanity, but it was quickly restored.

"Seriously, dude?" Harley stared at Peter, slightly scandalised. "That's not Led Zepellin, it's ACDC!"

"Oh, we are definitely keeping you, kid!" Happy laughed from the cockpit.

"You are?" Harley's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, welcome to the big, crazy family!"


	16. Taking Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Children of Iron know their roles. The fight against Mysterio begins.

Peter and Harley chatted animatedly as they worked on their suits, choosing weapons and functions. Harley was quite delighted to discover that there was an option to link his droids to his new suit, using it as a hub from which to control them. Vision occasionally offered the boys advice, while Wanda watched them all fondly from her seat.

Meanwhile, Happy, at Peter's instruction, placed what sounded, to Wanda's ears (The boys were distracted by their work to listen) like a very awkward phone call to Nick Fury, before setting the jet to auto-pilot and rushing to speak to Peter.

"Okay, I think Fury got the coded message. Your friends are at the Tower Bridge, so I'm going to take the Jet there and scoop them up, alright? We're close, we'll make it."

"Right, we're close" Peter nodded, trying not to betray his nerves.

"How're the suits going?" Happy asked.

"Almost done, Mr. Hogan" Harley grinned.

"Uh.. Good." Happy definitely liked that kid.

"Before we go.." Peter pulled a necklace from his pocket, trying to hand it to Happy, "If anything happens to me, can you give this to MJ?"

"Peter" Vision frowned, "Nothing is going to happen to you." At least, not if he had anything to say about it.

"Yeah" Harley added, "You've got us to help you now."

"They're right" Happy agreed, pressing the necklace back into Peter's hands. "We're all going to make it through this, and you'll give that necklace to MJ yourself. Now, run me through your plan."

"Well," Vision began, "Since Wanda was recently injured, she is going to stay here with you in the Jet and help you watch over the children.."

Wanda shot her fiance' a look that said she absolutely was not going to do that, but he and the other boys were too preoccupied with their plans. She'd protect the kids, definitely, but no way was she hiding away when Vision and his newfound brothers were in danger.

"I'm going to take my new suit and go help Fury and Agent Hill, in case they didn't understand your message, or they just need back up" Harley added.

"And I'll deal with Mysterio" said Peter. "I know his illusion tech now, right? All I have to do is get on the inside of the illusion, and then I can take it down, find him.. He's just a guy, so I should be able to take E.D.I.T.H back."

"That's a very good plan, in theory" Vision frowned a little, "But.."

"..Last time you got hit by a train" Happy finished, concerned.

"Well.. yeah. But it will be different this time" Peter insisted. "I'll have Vision there for back-up, and I have this kind of.. sixth sense, it's like.."

"Oh, you mean your Peter-tingle" Happy interrupted.

"It's not called that" Peter groaned.

"Your Aunt said.."

"Settle, boys" Wanda finally stood to come join them, deciding to intervene before things escalated and threw them off track. "Peter is right.. Whatever his Aunt called it, the 'Peter-tingle' is not really a fitting title for such a power. Perhaps we could try.. sens paianjen? The spider-sense."

"Spider-sense.." Peter grinned. "Yeah, I like that."

"Well, whatever we call it.." Happy interrupted again, "I thought it wasn't working?"

"It works fine" Peter huffed. "Or it will, I just have to.."

"Okay, it'll work" Happy relented, not wanting Peter to Panic too much. "So, you and Vision handle Mysterio and get back E.D.I.T.H, Harley's gonna go check on Fury, and Wanda and I will get the kids."

"Right."

As Happy ran back to the cockpit, Peter returned to join Harley, both of them putting the finishing touches on their suits. Everything was coming together nicely..  
\--

Harley's new suit, formed from the same nanite technology as Tony's final suit and Harley's own Iron Legion droids, had moulded to Harley's body perfectly. A little sleeker than Tony's had been, mostly due to Harley's smaller frame than any conscious choice on his part. He had switched the gold mask and highlights for silver, and added a spider-emblem near his Arc Reactor, to display his new allegiance to Spider-Man, but for the most part, he hadn't strayed far from the plans laid out by his late mentor.

"How do I look?" Harley, flanked by a small squad of his droids, showed off his suit for a moment, visor still up displaying his slightly nervous face, as he prepared to leave the Jet. "I thought the spider was a cool touch, since Spider-Man is a hero everyone already knows and trusts, so if people see the spider they'll know you're one of the good guys.."

"It looks great, man" Peter, half suited up and ready himself, was touched by the gesture, and again, left feeling a little guilty for being jealous and dismissive towards Harley when they first met.

"And yes" Vision added with a smile, "The spider is a cool touch.."

"But are you sure you are ready for this?" Wanda asked him, her face serious. "There is no shame if you decide you're not.. None of us will think any less of you, and no harm done.. I could help Fury and Agent Hill."

"She's right, dude.." Added Peter. "No pressure. I get how tough this hero thing is."

Harley paused, thinking for a moment, then shook his head, lowering his visor.

"No, I can do this.. I'm ready to go, Mr. Hogan!"

"Good luck, kid!" Happy opened the door to let Harley disembark.

Those remaining on the Jet watched with bated breath as he took to the sky for the first time, still flanked by his droids. He flew shakily for a few moments, then steadied, speeding up a little as he headed off on his mission.  
\--

Next it was Peter and Vision's turn to make their move. As the Jet hovered above where Beck's latest illusion (a horrible amalgamation of all four 'Elementals') was beginning to make it's assault, Peter leapt from the jet, his descent slowed by a parachute. Vision followed close behind, half-phased to limit his visibility. As they grew closer, Peter switched from the parachute to gliders built in under the arms of his new suit, trying not to flinch as they approached the 'Elemental'.

"Remember, Peter" Vision reminded him, "It's not real."

"Right.. It's not real" Peter steeled himself, as he and Vision slipped inside the illusion. "It's not.. whoa!"

"I admit.." Vision looked around at the hundreds of drones projecting the illusion they had now infiltrated, "This would be rather impressive, if Mr. Beck wasn't.."

"Completely insane?"

"Well, yes."

"Maybe we can use it for something better when this is over."

With that, Peter and Vision got to work on the drones, hoping to disrupt the illusion. Vision had never really seen Peter in action (He had been rather distracted at the airport, and again during the battle against the 'Fire Elemental'), but now he got a first hand view of just how impressive he was, leaping and swinging through the drones. Vision helped where he could, firing at some and disrupting others through phasing. In some areas, the illusion was starting to flicker, and through it, they could see Beck on the bridge. Using a few drones as leverage, Peter made a leap at Beck, and Vision followed, charging, until a drone collided with Peter, sending him plunging downwards.

"Peter!" Vision immediately dove for him.  
\--

Meanwhile, back on the Jet, Happy had tracked down Peter's friends through Flash's live-stream.

"Got 'em! Hey Wanda, I've got eyes on the kids!.. Wanda..?" When there was no reply, Happy looked around to see that he was completely alone in the Jet. Wanda had slipped out some time ago. "Oh, Vision is going to kill me.."


	17. Drone Strike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drones raze London.

Vision managed to catch Peter, snagging him by the back of his suit just before he hit the ground.

"Whoa!"

"Are you alright, Peter?" Vision asked.

"Yeah" Peter nodded. "Thanks, Vision. That would have hurt.." By now, the whole illusion had faded, while a large number of drones had turned their attention to Peter and Vision. "Uh.. I think he might be on to us.." Peter took off at a run, dodging the shots of some drones, while using others for anchors from which to jump and swing.

"I think so too" Vision followed close behind him, firing at the drones.  
\--

Meanwhile, poor Happy had had to set aside his panic over losing Wanda to focus on the task of picking up the kids. Finally spotting them in person, he brought the jet in to land near the Tower of London, and rushed to intercept the panicking kids as they fled through the crowds.

"Ned!" He called when he spotted them.

"Happy!" cried Ned, relieved, while MJ, Betty and Flash looked confused.

"I've gotta get you guys out of here" said Happy. "Quick, get on the jet!"

"Who are you?!" Yelled MJ, not about to get on a jet with a stranger without question, even if it seemed like Ned knew him.

"I work with Spider-man, okay? Now you've got to get on that Jet!"

"You work for Spider-man?" gasped Flash, awestruck.

"I work with Spider-man" Happy replied exasperatedly, "Not for Spider-man. Now.." Before he could repeat his order that they get on the jet, an explosion behind them signalled that the jet had been destroyed by missiles.

Even worse, more missiles were heading straight for them.

"Oh shit.." said Ned.

"We're gonna die!" Flash wailed.

Happy, unfortunately, could not comfort the boy, because it seemed quite certain that they were, in fact, about to die.

Just as all hope seemed lost, Wanda landed in front of them in a flash of scarlet,raising her hands to halt the missile's descent and hurl it high into the air, where the resulting explosion would do less damage.

"That was close.." Wanda panted.

"You're.. You're the Scarlet Witch!" Flash gaped at her.

"I am. Is anyone hurt?"

The kids shook their heads mutely.

"Good" Wanda smiled, and, still maintaining her affinity for the slightly weird kids of the world even in the midst of the current chaos, turned to her young saviour from the other night and asked, "Are you alright, MJ?"

"Um.." MJ blinked, surprised. "A little wigged out, but yeah, I guess I'm okay."

"You know the Scarlet Witch?" Flash gasped.

"Kinda.."

"Oh, MJ and I are very good friends" Wanda smirked, before turning her attention back to the the task at hand. "Happy, we need to get these kids somewhere safe."

"I know. I was trying to round them all up onto the jet, But.." He gestured to it's smouldering remains.

"Right" Wanda frowned, looking around. "Okay, new plan.. everyone into the tower!" She took off at a run, Happy and the kids following without question.  
\--

Elsewhere, Peter and Vision were still locked in battle with the drones. Vision was beginning to feel strangely drained. It was something that had happened now and then since his resurrection, if he was away from Wanda for any period of time, but it hadn't occured to him that it could be a problem today. He didn't mention this information to Peter. The poor boy had enough to worry about.

Peter looked around, at the drones still causing chaos, civilians fleeing.. But he couldn't let Mysterio get away with all this.

"Vision, you can fly, right? Could you go up and wrangle Beck until I get back up there?"

"Of course" Vision took off, still not mentioning the drained feeling to Peter.

Peter dodged another few drone shots, taking shelter behind a car as he decided to check in with Happy.

"Happy, say something!" He panted. "Please, let me know you're alive!"

"I'm here, I'm here" Happy's voice crackled through the communicator. "Wanda too. We've got your friends."  
\--

"Oh, thank god!"

"Wanda bought us some time.." Happy glanced nervously towards the door of the tower, which was beginning to spark as the drones tried to break in from the other side.

"..But not much" Wanda grimly finished Happy's sentence for him, making sure to keep the panicked children behind her.

At some point, MJ had snatched a mace from one of The Tower's displayed suits of armour. She looked as terrified as the others on the surface, but Wanda admired the girl's bravery.  
\--

"I'm trying to get to Beck, but I can't shake these drones!" Peter replied. "I sent Vision after him!" He took advantage of an explosion that sent the car he'd been hiding behind into the air, leaping from it and continuing his way upwards, leaping and swinging from various other bits of debris. "Whoa, I think I've got it!"  
\--

"Take your time, Peter.." Vision called into the communicator, a little breathless, firing beams at stray drones as he went. "I'm almost to Beck, we've got this under control."  
\--

Wanda, while focused on protecting Peter's friends, frowned a little. Shedidn't like the breathlessnes in Vision's voice. Something wasn't right..  
\--

When Vision finally caught up to Beck, he saw him working madly, barking instructions to his team while also keeping track of the drones he was sending after Spider-Man, and all his little friends. Finally getting a confirmed lock on Peter, a wicked grin spread over the villain's face, as he prepared to order a missile strike.

"Gotcha now, Spider-Man.."

"I don't think so."

Beck tried to hide his surprise at Vision's sudden appearance.

"Hey there, Vision the super-bot. Supposedly one of Stark's greatest inventions, but then.. You're not really all his, are you?" Beck taunted, wicked grin still in place. "You were an accident."

"Maybe" Vision glared at Beck. "But there's enough of him in me to help stop you."

Beck's eyes narrowed.

"We'll see about that.."


	18. Sharing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vision holds off Beck until Peter can make it to the bridge.

Vision attempted to charge at Beck, but he immediately summoned a group of drones to intercept him. Vision began to fight his way through, phasing and firing beams, but it was becoming more difficult than he had originally hoped. He was feeling so exhausted..  
\--

In the Tower of London, Wanda was also feeling exhausted, her head wound still affecting her. She shook her head, trying to focus. The drones had almost succeeded in opening the door, and she had to protect the kids.

"We're gonna die!" Ned was panicking.

"Hey," said Happy, "Nobody dies on my watch."

"Happy's right" Wanda tried to add, "No one is going to.."

Unfortunately, the boy was beyond reason.

"I've wasted my life playing Video Games, and now I'm gonna die!" Ned wailed. Unfortunately, he then set off a chain reaction of panic in the teens.

"I have a fake ID.. and I've never even used it!" Betty cried.

"I post stupid videos daily for people to like.." Flash groaned.

"I'm sure they're not stupid.." Wanda tried to comfort the boy.

"No, they are" Happy cut them off, until Wanda glared at him "But hey, if it wasn't for those stupid videos, Spider-Man would never have found you."

"Spider-Man follows me?" Flash's eyes lit up. "I saved us, guys!"

"If you saved us, then why are we about to die?!" MJ snapped.

"MJ!" Wanda scolded, wincing at another loud bang on the door from the drones. She liked the girl, but it wouldn't help to have her adding to everyone's stress.

"I'm sorry!" MJ cried. "I'm just obsessed with telling the truth, even if it hurts people's feelings!"

"I'm in love with Spider-Man's Aunt" said Happy, followed by a deafening silence. Everyone gave him strange looks, Wanda raised an eyebrow, and even the drones went quiet. "What? I thought we were sharing."

At that everyone glanced at Wanda for a moment.

"Sharing? Okay then" She began. "Vision and I are getting married, and I don't want to enter married life with the deaths of children on my conscience. So I promise, none of you are dying Today.." The door rattled again, looking as if it was about to burst open."

"We're gonna die!" Ned wailed again.

"What did I just say?" said Wanda sternly. "I'll keep you all safe, but you have to trust me.."  
\--

Meanwhile, in his new Berlin headquarters, Nick Fury stood at a broken window, face to face with one of Beck's drones as it was about to fire.

He simply smirked.

"You got me?" He asked into his communicator.

Seconds later, the drone exploded, shot down by Maria Hill as she dangled from a harness elsewhere on the building.

"I got you" She replied. Unfortunately, Hill had been so focused on taking her shot that she failed to notice the arrival of more drones, including the one that shot out the cord of her harness. She plummeted, screaming.

"Hill?!" Fury yelled. "What's wrong?!"

Thankfully, before the could hit the ground, the metallic hand of a speeding red and silver figure managed to grab hold of the cord.

"Gotcha! Looks like I made it just in time!"

As the figure came properly into his view, Fury thought, for a moment, that he was seeing a ghost.

"Stark?"

"No, too small" Hill squinted up at her saviour. "I think it's.."

Harley raised his visor for a moment, grinning.

"Hi, Agent Hill, Mr. Fury."

"Keener?" Fury's eye widened.

"Yep!" Harley put his visor back down, twisting in the air, keeping hold of Hill with one hand while firing at a drone with the other. Some of his droids were dealing with more arriving drones, but they seemed to be taking them out quite quickly. "Guys, I have Fury and Agent Hill!"

Fury shook his head in near disbelief. They were definitely recruiting that kid.  
\--

"Great work, Harley!" Vision called through his communicator, still fighting his way through the drones. "Stay with them! Wanda, how are you?"  
\--

Wanda had pushed both the kids, and a reluctant happy behind her.

"We are running seriously low on time here, Vizh.. How close are you and Peter to getting those glasses?"  
\--

"I think we're making good progress.." Vision shot down another drone, slightly concerned that his energy beam was not quite as potent as it had been earlier in the day. "Peter?"

"Hang in there just a little longer man, I'm almost there!"

So, Vision fought on. He was visibly exhausted by the time he reached Beck.

"What's wrong, super-bot?" The villain smirked. "You need your batteries charged?"

"I have a bit left in the tank" Vision punched Beck right in his smirk.

Beck scowled and, quite unwisely, tried to punch back. Vision made no effort to dodge the blow, simply increasing his density. His attacker yelped, and Vision was quite satisfied to see a bruise immediately blooming over Beck's knuckles. Relaxing a little and letting his density return to normal, Vision failed to notice that Beck had summoned more drones. Behind him, one of them fired, and Vision stumbled.

—

Back in the Tower, Wanda suddenly cried out, clutching her shoulder.

"Wanda?" Happy frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine.." She scowled, but Beck wouldn't be if he had hurt Vision. She didn't have time to worry about that though, as the door finally gave way. "Quick, everyone split up and hide among the exhibits, we won't be as easy a target.."

—

Sparks skittered along the edge of Vision's newest wound. He fell to his knees.

"You're too late" Beck taunted. "I have the power now, you can't beat me!"

"I know I can't.." said Vision.

Beck looked confused. Vision gathered his strength, leaping backwards as Peter burst through the floor between them, grabbing Beck by the collar of his illusion suit and dangling him as he grabbed onto the roof.

"Your lies are over, Beck!" Vision yelled.

"..But he can" Vision grinned.


	19. Proud Of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Children Of Iron finally defeat Mysterio.

"I have contingencies" Beck smirked, as he dangled from Peter's grasp. "E.D.I.T.H!"

A previously unseen drone fired, and Peter was sent flying, dropping Beck and colliding with the injured Vision, sending them both sprawling down the bridge.  
\--

As the drones broke into the Tower and the kids scattered, Happy grabbed a shield from a nearby suit of armour and attempted to hurl it at one of the drones. It immediately and unimpressively clattered to the floor.

"How does Cap do that?" He cried, annoyed.

"Well, He was a super soldier, you are not" Wanda pointed out, scarlet energy crackling around her hands as she prepared to fight. There was also the fact that Cap's shield was specially made from vibranium, but now wasn't the time for deeper explanations. With a flick of her fingers, she downed the first drone, but there were plenty more coming. "Go hide! I'll handle this.."  
\--

"Peter, are you alright?" Vision groaned.

"Yeah" Peter mumbled, getting to his feet. Although he was just as battered by this point, he planted himself between Beck and Vision.

"Peter.." Vision frowned.

"Don't worry, I've got this" Peter interrupted, before turning back to glare at Beck. "Just give me the damn glasses."

"You want these?" Beck taunted, holding up the glasses, as the drones surrounded him, creating a new illusion. "Well, come and get them!"

As the illusion surrounded himself and Vision, Peter froze up for a moment, haunted by his earlier experience with Beck's holograms.

"You can do this, Peter!" Vision called encouragingly. "Tony believed in you, and so do I!"

"Right.. Okay" He took a deep breath. "Come on Peter ting.. No, spider-senses. Come on, Spider-Senses!"

After another deep breath, and Peter took off at a run, dodging, weaving and bouncing off of the drones, damaging enough of them to slowly bring down the illusion, while dodging their fire at the same time, until the firing stopped, with the drones now simply trying, and failing, to block his way.

"Yes!" Vision cheered, struggling to his feet. "Go Peter, go!"

As Spider-Man grew closer to his goal, dangerously close, Beck began to panic.

"Why aren't these drones firing?!" He barked.

_"You are in the strike zone. The chance of you getting getting hit is.."___

_ __ _

"No! Fire all the drones now!" Beck roared.  
\--

Back in the Tower, MJ peeked out from her hiding place, watching Wanda do battle with the drones.

The Scarlet Witch in action was truly something amazing to behold, but she had still recently suffered a head wound, and seemed to be losing steam.

MJ clutched her mace a little tighter.  
\--

The Drones fired. Peter used a downed drone as a shield, deflecting some shots and using his newly honed spider-senses to dodge the others. Beck, however, after disregarding E.D.I.T.H's advice, was seemingly hit, falling to the ground.

"Beck!" Peter yelled, both angry and, true to his kind nature, slightly concerned, hobbled over to him. "You lied to me. I trusted you."

Vision kept his distance, letting Peter handle his own battle, but watched warily. Something didn't seem right..

"I know" Beck panted, holding out the glasses. "That's the worst part. You're a good person, Peter. Stark was right. You deserve these.."

Vision squinted, seeing a slight blur. Something definitely wasn't right.

"Peter, be careful!" He yelled, seconds before a gun fired.

Peter was had already turned, grabbing the shocked Beck's wrist, and causing him to drop his gun as the hologram on the ground flickered away.

"You can't trick me anymore" Peter scowled, snatching the glasses from Beck's face and quickly putting them on, letting Beck fall to the ground. "E.D.I.T.H, turn off the drones!"

_"Bio-metric scan complete. Welcome back, Peter. Shall I execute cancellation protocols?"___

_ __ _

"Do it!" Peter cried. "Execute them all!"

_"Confirmed."  
\--_

MJ, soon followed by Happy, burst out of her hiding place, rushing to Wanda's aid when suddenly, the drones halted their attack, beginning to retreat.

A proud smile crossed Wanda's face.

"Copi mei di fier. They did it.." Then Wanda had frozen, her smile falling away. At the edge of her mind, she felt a presence. Not an overly powerful one, but one that needed to be stopped all the same. "Happy, watch the kids. Tell Vision I'll be back soon, there's just one more thing I need to do.."

"What? Wanda, where are you.." Happy began, but Wanda had already taken off. "Oh, not again.."  
\--

Now deposited safely on a roof, Maria Hill watched, slightly awestruck, as the drones headed back out into space. Harley, hovering nearby, punched the air.

"Children of Iron, Woo!"  
\--

"Thank you" Peter smiled, relieved. However, the smile quickly faded as he turned back to Beck, lying on the bridge in a very bad way. "How could you do all this?" Peter looked down at Beck in disbelief.

"You'll see" Beck murmured weakly, as Vision came to stand beside Peter, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. "People need to believe, Peter.. and nowadays, you can make them believe in anything."

Beck gave a final rattling breath, then grew eerily still, his glassy eyes stared without seeing.

"Is he.." Peter gulped. "E.D.I.T.H, is this real?"

_"All illusions are down, Peter."___

_ __ _

Peter took a step closer, as if to check for himself, but couldn't bring himself to do it.

"V-Vision" Peter was shaking a little. "Can you.. Would you mind checking if he.."

Without another word, Vision stepped forward and knelt by Quentin Beck's body, wincing a little as he aggravated his wound. Felt for a pulse, and when he found none, rolled him on to his back and gently closed his eyes. Despite all the trouble he had caused, Vision would not disrespect him in death.

"He's gone, Peter" Vision said gently as he stood. "But I want to make sure you know that you've done nothing wrong. Beck brought this on himself."

"I-If I'd never messed up.."

"That doesn't matter now. You put it right. I'm proud of you, and Tony would have been too."

"You think so?" Peter asked hopefully.

Vision couldn't help pulling his little brother into a hug.

"I know so."

**Author's Note:**

> Translation:  
Sora cai mica: little sister


End file.
